Meet My Sister
by the yellow submarine
Summary: After he somehow saved her life, Max has had a debt to settle with Fang. And now he turns up on her doorstep with a golden opportunity - Max is officially Fang's "baby sister" for the summer holidays. Who knows how that's going to turn out...
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my third fanfiction! Well... my fourth really, but I deleted the third one I started to write because it wasn't really satisfying and there wasn't much scope for imagination. SO I started another Maximum Ride one, just because Moving Backwards is going so well, and I came up with this idea for a story aaages ago, way before I discovered Fanfiction. And now I'm putting it down for you guys to read :)**

**The first chapter can sometimes be the most important to review because it gets the writer all hyped up for the writing the rest of it... So please be a bunch of angels and tell me what you think of this :)**

**By the way, I'm English, I don't understand American systems of education, so the small stuff about school in this will be based on the systems of the schools I go to. Hope that won't drive anyone nuts.**

**Happy reading! X**

I don't know what kind of school you go to, but mine is totally mental. Garenstoke High School is on the outskirts of London, and it provides education for around 500 students from the ages 11 to 18-

Jeez, it sounds like I'm advertising the place.

Well anyway, those 500 kids are all totally, utterly and undoubtedly _bonkers_. Look at Nudge, for instance. Nudge is one of my best friends. She has lovely, dark skin that makes you think of browning leaves in the autumn, and her hair is a wild torrent of brown fuzz. Nudge's name isn't really Nudge. That's just what I have called her since we were five years old, and it's stuck. Her real name is Monique, and she is possibly the most talkative, loud and incredibly hyper person I have ever known. Don't get me wrong, Nudge is great. She just has a big mouth.

Then there's Ella, my other best friend. A skinny, blonde, shy bookworm. No, wait... reading back over that description, it does Ella no justice. Ella Burkins is funny, she can make me laugh when I need to sneeze, she yells out when the teacher tells her to put her hand up, she puts her hand up when the teacher tells her to yell out, and she has a way with words that lets her get exactly what she wants.

And me? Well... My name is Maximum Ride. I have dirty blonde hair that sticks out like a lion's mane when I wake up in the morning, my eyes are the colour of mud, I am _the _arm wrestling champion in our school, and I eat like a pig.

There you are. Me and my two mad best friends.

And what were we doing at the start of this little tale I'm about to weave?

We were screaming.

Well... everyone was screaming.

Don't look so shocked, I told you my school is mental.

We were screaming... BECAUSE IT WAS OFFICIALLY THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS.

"I'm going to burn every single book I own in the dumpster at the back of my house." I whispered, joy coursing through my veins like electricity.

"Take a video." Ella said, flinging her arms around mine and Nudge's shoulders and throwing her head back to yell in happiness. "It's summer, summer, _summer_ suckers!"

She drew out _suckers_ and pulled our heads in so we were head butting her sides. Nudge wiggled free and grinned broadly at us. She had somehow battled her glorious, bushy hair into a ponytail, with little wisps sticking out around the sides.

"This is going to be the best summer _ever_." She said, skipping once to emphasize her excitement. "My Dad is away in Hawaii, but me and my Mum are going on this art course together where you get to do all these abstract paintings, you know, like throwing paint on a huge canvas? You guys should _so _come. I can ask my Mum to get you registered if you want. It's twice a week, in the afternoons and..."

I tuned out and looked around me. You couldn't see one unhappy face anywhere – everybody was grinning and moving so quickly towards the great, green doors that allowed us access back into the outside world, that you'd have thought someone was sweeping us all up with a huge dustpan and brush.

I was excited, but also not. Nudge was going to be busy with this art course thing – both her and her mother were art fanatics. Their house was a maze of paintings and sculptures. While my Dad was tripping over my balls and pretend guns when I was a kid, Nudge's parents were tripping over her baby-safe paint cans.

Ella was off to New Zealand for two whole weeks to visit her extensive family over there – I swear she had once claimed that she had twenty cousins? She would be having the time of her life, getting an amazing tan, while I would be...

I would be at home alone, watching crappy pirate movies and eating everything I could lay my hands on. Jeb is a great Dad, he has never left me in need of anything, except maybe for some attention and time actually spent with him. He needs to work from early in the morning to late at night, and that meant that this Summer was going to be a very lonely one, unless I could drag Nudge away from her art classes and kidnap Ella as soon as she returned from New Zealand...

The cold breeze of the outdoors whipped against my face as soon as I stepped out of the school. There were a few stone steps to walk down before we were officially _free_...

I yelped in happiness and grabbed a lamppost, swinging around it while Nudge and Ella stood by and watched, pretending not to know me. When I felt I was sufficiently dizzy, I stumbled back to my friends and smiled broadly at them.

"What are you guys doing now?" Ella asked, shoving her backpack over her shoulder.

"I think I'm going to find an open field somewhere and stare at the clouds wag past, knowing that I don't have to go to school for another _two fucking months_!"

I laughed. "I have plans with Harry."

Nudge and Ella made suitable sympathetic faces. I sighed in agreement. Harry was my boyfriend, a tall, ginger haired, lanky guy with numerous freckles and a big nose. We had been going out for a while now, although I hadn't really counted the months, but recently Harry had been driving me around the bend. He never ceased to break things, knock things over, accidentally step on my feet while we were walking together in the street, and he never, ever kissed me first. It was like an unwritten rule of conduct between us that I would kiss him, not the other way around, and he would blush happily and continue with breaking whatever he was currently touching.

"Is he driving you?" Ella asked gently, squeezing my arm.

"Unfortunately."

They groaned in unison. Harry drove like a maniac. The red truck he insisted on driving me in was dented in so many places that the entire frame seemed to have been constructed so that it was wavy. I always had to grip the seat with one hand and hold my seat belt, seeing as it was broken, to make sure I didn't fall out of the van for any reason.

"Well, good luck, Max. I'm going to miss you!" Ella flung herself in my arms and I squeezed her tightly before turning to Nudge.

She opened her mouth, but I raised a hand in protest. "Don't talk, Nudge. Just hug. And see me soon, okay? Provided I'm still alive after today." Nudge laughed and pulled me into a big bear hug, which Ella eventually joined.

I watched them go. Nudge's Mum came in her amazing purple mini, waved at me and drove away, the piece of card stuck on the back window of the car, _'Jesus Loves You'_, clearly visible along with Nudge's wild hair. Ella jumped onto her bike, blew a kiss in my direction and rode away, weaving in and out of the crowds of people.

I sighed, stuffed my hands into my pockets, and began to walk. I could see the red truck. Who couldn't? It was the most conspicuous thing in the entire street. I often wondered why Harry chose a red van anyway. It clashed with his hair.

I didn't bother to look either way as I progressed to cross the road. I was depressed, and trusted anyone driving to notice me crawling pathetically across with my head drooping.

That was a mistake. A big one, too.

I whipped my head up when I heard a terrified yell and the excited honking of a broken horn. I knew that honking anywhere. I knew that _big blob of red_ anywhere. I knew that mop of unruly hair and that high pitched squeak anywhere.

Harry was going to plough me down any minute.

But I couldn't seem to move myself. I felt anger bubble up inside of me in those few seconds that I had to stand and stare at Harry swerving dangerously towards me. _Stupid, clumsy dyke-_

"Holy _shit_."

I screamed as something large and heavy flung against my side and sent me flying across the road to safety. I rolled on the ground, my breath catching in my throat. I lifted my head slightly to see Harry staring at me with his mouth agape, and I resisted the urge to chase him down the street and beat him to a pulp.

Instead I glanced at my hero. A guy was lying down next to me, although he gathered himself up pretty fast. He was like... a study in _black._ His hair was dark and unruly, flipping out every which way and covering his forehead. His eyes were like deep black tunnels, running on forever as he stared at me scornfully. His cheeks were slanted and his skin an olive colour and smooth. His shirt was black and rumpled. His jeans were low slung and allowed me to see the slightest bit of underwear bunched up around of it. His trainers were black and scuffed.

"That was clever." He said in a deep, mocking tone.

I raised an eyebrow in response. His manner obviously didn't match his conduct. I was aware of people standing around, staring at us. The girl who nearly died and the guy who had saved her and was acting like a total arsehole.

"He was driving like a lunatic." I muttered, lifting myself up and wiping down my jeans.

"I'll say." He laughed shortly.

"Well, thanks for not letting me turn into road kill." I pulled my backpack up, over my shoulder, and pushed my fringe out of my eyes so I could make contact with his. They twinkled mischievously.

"I think you owe me." He said softly, a grin crossing his face.

I tried to ignore how fit he looked and shrugged. "Fine with me. Next time you need someone to open your Pringles packet, I'm your girl."

He grinned again before walking casually back to where he had been standing before our fiasco, while I sighed and waited for Harry to come back up the road with his stupid, fucking red van.

**CHAPTER UNO COMPLETED! Want me to continue? Don't? Lemme know! I will metaphorically kiss your feet if you review :D (come on, how can you resist that offer?) **

**x**


	2. Chapter 2

**AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. OMG OMG OMG. YOU GUYS ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I love you all. So much. Honestly, I was just sitting there grinning like a fool at my laptop at the reviews for the first chapter. Please continue your amazingness on this one...**

**I happen to have been revising a bit of biology a moment ago. It's really going to my head. I was texting my friend and started talking about White Blood Cells... don't be shocked if I stick a random fact about root cells and phloem in here, will you?**

**So anyway, one of my (beautiful) reviewers mentioned something about this fanfic being long... I was actually planning on it being a quicky, but please let me know if you'd rather a longer one. And ****I lOvE gIrAfFeS,** **thankyou for your comment :) I would be OVER THE MOON if you reviewed every chapter. And don't worry, I won't touch your feet.**

**I hope you like it! Happy reading! X**

I couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief as Harry finally pulled up outside my house. It was on the verge of getting dark, the sky turning a soft grey colour and the sun beginning to hide behind the bony trees. I let go of my seatbelt and listened to the satisfying _thwack _of it snapping back against the worn seat.

"I'm sorry about nearly killing you, Max." Harry said quietly.

I turned my head very slightly so his flushed face came into my vision. I suppressed a sigh of frustration. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to respond and set his mind at ease. The words just didn't come to me. Harry finally made eye contact with me. I stared at the blueness of them... like two little lakes. Wait... the lakes were getting... larger?

Oh God.

Harry was moving towards me. His eyes were sliding shut. His hands were holding the edge of my seat for support.

What does it usually mean when a guy does this?

That he's going to kiss you. There's one slight problem.

MY BOYFRIEND DOES NOT KISS ME!

"_Harry!_" His eyes flicked open and he began to chew his lip nervously. Seriously? Was this a healthy relationship if I _scared_ my boyfriend? There was no time to think about it. "Harry, have you lost your mind?"

"What, is it illegal for me to kiss you now?" His eyes flashed slightly. It may possibly have come across as threatening had it not been for the fact that Harry _isn't _intimidating. It just looked like I had flashed a torch in his eyes or something.

"Well actually, yes. You never kiss me!" I could hear my voice going slightly high pitched. What? _He had almost fucking kissed me!_

Harry groaned and collapsed back in his seat. I took a deep breath to steady myself, comforting myself with the thought that he had moved away now, and it wasn't going to happen again... _ever_.

"Harry, I'm going to go inside now." I said quietly, glancing at him to make sure he hadn't fainted after... after... God, I can't say it. I knew _I _was feeling unsteady. Finally his eyes opened, but he refused to look straight at me. Instead, he stared up at the roof of the car and his head moved backwards and forwards a couple of times. "Right. Good night, then." I opened the door and pulled my backpack up from where it had been lying at my feet.

"Um... Max." I stopped and looked back at him. "I..." He cleared his throat hurriedly. "I... love you." He grimaced. I sighed.

"How did it feel?" I asked gently.

"Like I was telling Mr Wilkins I want to marry him."

I snorted. "Nice comparison. I guess that only means one thing."

Harry nodded and sighed deeply. It seemed we were doing a lot of this sighing tonight. "Right. Well, I guess I'll see you 'round, Max." He smiled up at me, his eyes beginning to brighten. "I'll never forget the day I asked you out, though. Remember? It was at that Science Conference and you punched me in the face and came later to the nurse's office to say 'yes'."

I sighed again and nodded. "We'll always have the memories. See you, Harry."

"Bye Max."

I turned to face my front door, and sighed one more time. A big, deep, _thrilling _sigh of relief.

...

The typical summer holiday. A week had passed and I had done nothing but what I had promised myself to do... that is, watch crappy pirate movies and eat everything I could lay my hands on. I had got through twenty films, some of them so _bad_ that I ended up throwing my slipper or the pizza box or the cat at the television. Jeb usually came home around the time that I gave in to my drooping eyelids and fell asleep on the sofa. He always brought food home with him, though. I couldn't tell if this was a good or bad thing. You'd never go hungry in my house. And yet I was going to gain some major chub. That's never a good thing.

And here I was again, lying on the worn, red sofa with the cat, whose name I forget, prowling around my head and trying to get the stray pieces of popcorn that fell out of my mouth. I sighed and swatted him... or her... away.

"Get lost. Seriously, Feline, piss off."

I got annoyed and pushed the creature off the sofa, before settling back down and turning my head to watch Batman land gracefully on some unsuspecting citizen's roof.

I groaned loudly when the doorbell sounded and threw the empty bowl of popcorn at the cat. Well. He had it coming.

I stomped to the front door, prepared to punch the mailman or whoever it was right in the nose, as I yanked at the doorknob and revealed my visitor.

"Oh, go _away_."

"Nice welcome."

I sighed and leant my head against the doorframe. "Do you know what's happening at this moment?"

He shook his head.

"Batman is about to save the world."

"Huh."

"Yeah. He's got the bad guy cornered and everything."

"Is that so."

"AND YOU'RE FUCKING INTERRUPTING!"

I made a move to close the door but he moved quickly so his foot was in my way. I banged the door against it several times before giving up and folding my arms crossly.

"What do you want?" I growled. He looked exactly the same as the last time I had conversed with him. The whole black attire thing seemed to be a constant.

"You owe me." He smiled and put his weight against the doorframe. I stepped back instinctively.

"Where's the Pringle packet?"

He laughed. I marvelled at his teeth before his lips moved down to cover them again. "Not quite."

I groaned and threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "Whatever. Batman will have defeated the Joker by now. Shoot."

"I need you to move into my house."

Woah.

"That's kind of not an option for me. I'm still underage."

He smirked. "That's hardly what I want from you."

"Then what exactly do you _want from me_?"

"I need you to be my sister."

"Huh?" I was way beyond confused by now. This was under no circumstances what I was expecting him to say. Not that I was expecting him to actually come and _collect _the bloody favour in the middle of Batman anyway...

He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes, like I was a total retard, which – correct me if I'm wrong – was totally unfair. Considering the fact that he had just turned up on my doorstep with no notice whatsoever and put forward the idea that I _become his sibling_.

"Alright. Look. My aunt is coming from New Zealand to visit for the summer. I haven't ever met her. My Mum... well, my Mum is an author. She's in Hong Kong at the moment, but whatever. The point is, she likes making up stories. When I was born she decided to tell her sister I had a twin sibling. A non identical sister."

"This is ridiculous."

"Shut up and listen. My Aunt writes to me all the time, asking about this mysterious twin sibling who doesn't ever write to her. I never bothered to tell her I don't have a sister, or any siblings for that matter."

"Right."

"Now she's coming to visit."

"And you want me to come and pretend to be your sister for the summer so that your Aunt doesn't suspect a thing."

"Not quite." He grinned and ran his fingers through his hair. I watched it flip back over his face and had to pull my gaze away from it... it looked so _soft_... to look at his face again. "My Aunt is staying for the entire summer. Five more weeks. I have football to practice, and me and my friends are starting up a band. I can't leave her on her own and I'm not going to stay with her."

"Nice of you."

"You can come and pretend to be my sister until she goes, keeping her occupied in the process. She'll never suspect a thing."

I stared at him, my mouth hanging slightly open. "Seriously."

He nodded, grinning again. Was he _crazy _or something? Who came up with plans like_ that?_

"What makes you think I have nothing better to do than hang around your house and keep your aunt occupied?" I demanded.

He smirked. "You're watching Batman in an empty house."

I glared at him. "For your information, Batman is a _legend_."

"Really."

"Your aunt can't be that much of an idiot anyway. We look _nothing_ alike."

"My aunt has never met either of us before." He was still smirking, like I had already _agreed _or something.

"This is mad."

"It will work. And you can eat all the food in the house. Apparently my aunt's really good at cooking."

I continued to stare at him in horror. Although the part about the food _did_ sound nice...

"No." I said finally. "It wouldn't work. And I'm not wasting away my Summer holidays with your aunt so you can start up a band. Capiche?"

He laughed once and began to move away from the door. "If that's your final decision."

"Obviously it is." I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Call me if you change your mind." He was still moving backwards.

"I don't have your number, idiot."

"Yeah you do. I posted it for you."

I pulled back the door to peer at where the letters fall when the mailman pays a visit. Sure enough, there was a small slip of paper with some numbers scrawled on it.

"Don't expect anything!" I called out. He was at the gate now.

"Don't forget you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me!"

I paused. "Dude! I don't even know your name!"

He turned around and grinned broadly. Even from that distance his pearly whites glimmered at me. "Fang."

Fang? _Fang?_

"That's your real name?" I yelled, sceptical.

He rolled his eyes. "Nick. But no one calls me that."

Nick... Fang... whatever... turned and started walking.

"You don't know _my _name!"

He looked over his shoulder.

"Max!" I was practically screaming now.

Fang laughed again. "See you Monday then, _Max_."

If he thought I was honestly going to stay at his house for five weeks and pretend to be his non-identical sister, he was sorely mistaken.

...

It had been an hour and a half. I was sitting on the sofa, legs crossed, staring at the stacks of DVDs on the floor, wondering what to do. I twitched slightly and looked at the phone, then at the slip of paper in my hand.

I groaned and picked up the phone, punching in the numbers violently. _If he makes fun of me... 772... I swear to God... 894... I WILL KILL HIM._

"Hello?" His voice was even huskier on the phone.

"I'll be there at three."

I slammed the phone down, dropped back on the sofa, and glared at the cat.

You know what they say, after all. When there's no one else around... blame the cat.

**There we go. :D I hope you guys liked it. Your reviews have really got me into this story... keep it up, and I might have another chappie done today! **

**X**


	3. Chapter 3

**You know what, I am officially speechless. My reviewers are possibly the most wonderful people on earth – not only do you guys actually take the time to review my stories, you make the comments really lovely (and amusing)... Trust me, I cherish them all. **

**Soooo Chapter 3! This story is possibly my favourite out of the ones I am writing. I have quite a few ideas to last for a while :D**

**I'd like to give a shout out to ****Hailey CB whose wonderful reviews I can't answer... so I'll do it here! THANKYOU for your comment, and I will continue updating as fast as I can, and I will love you forever if you review every chapter :D **

**Happy reading guys x**

This was a bad idea.

Now it had come to the actual _thing,_ and I was standing outside Nick - or Fang's - house, I felt like an idiot. This wasn't only a _bad_ idea, it was a terrible, appalling and utterly _ridiculous_ idea. What had possessed me to actually follow this plan through? To actually stand outside his house with my numerous cases and colourful luggage, even bringing along Norman, my teddy?

It's obvious.

I was tired and the cat was distracting me.

Fine. Now I needed to casually turn _away _from my destination and trail back home, baggage in tow.

"Max."

_Oh no._ Was it necessary for him to require a breath of fresh air _right now_? I kept moving forwards, determined not to let him distract me from my pathetic escape plan.

That was before my suitcase did that annoying thing where it kind of caught up with itself and turned over, twisting my arm and leaving me looking like a total twit in the process. Oh, and it meant that I had to turn around and face Nick... or Fang... who was standing at his front door, hands in his pockets, watching me with evident amusement in his dark eyes.

"What?" I snapped, pulling up my suitcase angrily.

"This is actually my house."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He rolled his eyes.

"You have officially arrived at your home for the summer, _sis_."

I growled. No _way, _under _any circumstances_, was this guy calling me _'sis'_. I told him so, clenching my fist around the handle of the suitcase half-consciously.

Fang grinned. "Coming in, sis?"

With a loud _humph_ of annoyance, I pulled my bags behind me and moved towards the now empty doorway, muttering in a frustrated manner about _some_ people not even being _polite_ enough to assist their _guest_ with their bloody luggage. I struggled up the five steps leading to the small, red-brick building with windows that were framed by white-washed slabs of wood and little flower boxes. It was a cute place. I glanced down quickly at the doormat which read, _'Please don't mess up the house with your crappy feet'_, and smirked before wiping each foot once upon its surface.

The hallway was small and illuminated by a brightly glowing bulb that gave the furniture a slightly orange tinge. I hauled my luggage in. As I was dragging in the last bag, Fang's voice made me jump slightly.

"Do you really need all those bags?"

I glanced over my shoulder self consciously and cleared my throat when I saw that I was now in very close proximity with him. His dark eyes bored into mine, crinkling slightly at the edges and clear amusement at my difficulties lining the edges of his black irises.

"You could have helped you know." I muttered, as the final suitcase bounced across the lifted flooring at the door. "Like a true gentleman?" I added.

Fang smirked. "I could. But it's just too much fun watching you struggle."

_Bastard_. I ignored the way his warm breath tickled my cheek.

"Is your aunt here?" I said at last.

Fang stepped back. "Nope. She'll be here tomorrow, early in the morning."

"Wonderful."

"You'll get on fine. According to my Mum, she's a bit... eccentric."

Fang was walking slowly up the stairs now, his hands still in his pockets. I watched him ascend, step by step...

"And I suppose you're trying to insinuate that _I'm _eccentric?"

He laughed and looked over his shoulder. "You agreed to come here. You must be at least a _bit _mad to do that."

I felt my jaw go slack. "Firstly, it was _your _idea. A crazy, wierd and unexpected idea, I may add. Secondly, you should be grateful I even agreed to come here and give _you _the opportunity to crawl off with your little friends and start a band. And thirdly..." I trailed off.

"Thirdly?"

I glowered at him. So I didn't have a thirdly! Wasn't a crime.

"Didn't your parents mind?" Fang asked. He was at the top of the first flight of stairs by now.

I frowned. Jeb hadn't seemed to mind at all. He practically _told_ me to go. Which, correct me if I'm mistaken, is a slightly odd thing for a Dad to do? Sure, it's nice having freedom, but I sometimes wondered if Jeb didn't really notice that I was actually his _daughter_, not some kind of eating machine that he could let go to roam around the countryside. I mean, he hadn't even asked who I was staying with. _Fine_, I may have mentioned something about a friend, and perhaps he looked up curiously when I spoke about Fang, but no details were demanded, no telephone numbers noted down or orders to Stay Safe and Call Him If Anything Went Wrong.

"No." I said stiffly. "He didn't mind."

"He? Your Dad?"

I looked up at Fang who no longer looked amused, only curious. I sighed. "My Mum died when I was a kid. Car accident."

Fang, surprisingly, offered me a small sympathetic smile. Although I was mildly shocked, and my stomach was (annoyingly) doing somersaults at viewing such a wonderful, kind smile... I returned it immediately, feeling more comfortable with him than I had ever since he saved me from Harry the Terrible Driver.

"Your room's up here." Fang said finally, removing one hand from his jean pocket and motioning upwards. "You might want to go there and get unpacked and... do whatever you girls do. Iggy and Gaz are coming over in a minute, so you might want to get a move on."

"Iggy and Gaz?" I repeated, incredulous. I started to haul my bags towards the staircase.

"My friends." I looked up at Fang's amused tone.

"Fang, Iggy and Gaz. Is it just me or are those names a bit... out of the ordinary?"

He smirked. "Max isn't exactly a common name for girls."

I rolled my eyes in response. I was used to people being iffy about my name. "Short for Maximum."

Fang laughed. He continued laughing as I glared up at him. He stopped laughing when I began to yell.

"If you actually want me to help you out this summer then you will get your lazy arse down these fucking stairs and help me with my bags, or God help me I'll call a fucking cab and go home after punching your arrogant head in and beating your stupid friends up for good measure."

Fang raised an eyebrow at me, but came down the stairs, albeit very _slowly_, and helped me to drag my bags up to my room.

After much swearing and stepping on each other's feet, Fang and I reached the room I was supposed to be staying in. It was small yet sweet. Whitewashed walls, wooden wardrobe and set of drawers, and a little four-post bed with one of those rainbow patch quilts draped over the top.

"Thanks." I muttered. Fang bowed, before winking and taking his leave.

I unpacked, as he had told me to, chucking my clothes, dirty or clean, into the drawers. Around twenty minutes later, the bell sounded, announcing the arrival of who I supposed would be _Iggy and Gaz_.

I checked my simple outfit of skinny jeans and a blue vest in the mirror, before marching down the carpeted stairs to meet Fang's friends. I suspected they would be much like him. You know, into the whole emo look, wearing all black, maybe gelled back hair or heavy jewellery.

"Hey, it's my sister."

I was greeted with the mocking words as soon as I stepped foot in the kitchen. I absorbed my surroundings – simple worktops and colourful tiles – before allowing my curious gaze to land on the two most un-Fang-like creatures I had ever seen in my life. Well. Ever since I had met Fang, anyway.

"This is her?" The guy who spoke was sitting down, but even then I could tell he was tall and lanky. His shirt which was long sleeved didn't cover his wrists. He had a mop of straight, strawberry blonde hair and deep blue eyes that were assessing me carefully. I stood beneath his gaze and offered a small, uncertain smile.

"That's her." Fang said, grinning broadly.

"Max." I glanced at the other boy in the room. He was another blonde, with slightly more watery blue eyes. He was stout, unlike his friends, and a big, goofy smile graced his face as he looked me over, similar to the other.

"Well hi there." I lifted my hand in greeting before marching past them and opening up the fridge. Fang had promised food, and I got food. Every shelf was loaded with packets of fruit, chocolate, chicken and other edibles. I dug in immediately, helping myself to a generous amount of hummus with carrot sticks before turning back around, smacking my bum against the fridge door to shut it, and facing the three boys assembled around the kitchen table.

"Kind of you to get us something to eat." The stout boy muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I smirked before pointing a carrot stick at him.

"Which one are you?"

He looked up. "Gazzy."

"So you're Iggy." I looked at the lanky one with a grin.

"And I'm Fang." Fang interjected. "And I'm also _hungry_."

I looked at him with raised eyebrows before shrugging and opening the cupboard to pull out a can of beans. They wanted food? They'd get food. And a taste of their own medicine in the process.

They made small sounds of satisfaction and I heard the scraping of a chair as _Gazzy_ sat down beside _Iggy._ Seriously, though. Who has names like that? I listened as they lapsed into a comfortable conversation about setting up the band – as far as I could tell, it would be them with a few other people playing on guitars and drums and singing. I stirred the beans around slowly, not noticing that some of them were acquiring an odd black tinge around the edges. Their conversation had now turned to football and their crap coach.

"Hey Max." I glanced over my shoulder at Iggy. "What exactly are you _doing_ with those beans?"

I made a confused face and somehow, my arm swung across as I lifted the pan off the hob and knocked into the bottle of oil beside the cooker. I stepped back quickly, bumping straight into Fang and burning myself with the pan in the process. As I cursed, the pan knocked into the cooker and the next thing I knew, the entire thing was up in flames.

"Oh my fucking God!" I stumbled backwards, dropping the pan of beans onto the table and staring in horror as the flames danced gleefully on the cooker. Fang was swearing at the top of his lungs as he turned the cooker off and grabbed something to drape over it.

It was when he dropped it over and the fire went out, meaning the blood pumping in my ears also resided, that I heard the delighted whoops beside me. I stared at Iggy and Gazzy who were laughing desperately, trying to get words out between each hiccup.

"That... was... AWESOME!"

"No it wasn't." I looked at Fang who was glaring at me. I swallowed. "Max. Go to the living room and don't do or touch anything until I come and give you a fire safety talk."

I grimaced and made a move towards the door. Before I left, however, I risked a glance back at the two excited boys. "You can still eat the beans, you know."

"OUT!"

"I'm out, I'm out."

Jeez, Fang could be scary when he felt like it.

...

I waited patiently for Fang in the living room. I had managed to creep upstairs and change into my smiley-face pyjamas which were much more comfortable than my previous outfit. It wasn't long before I heard the bang of the front door closing behind Iggy and Gazzy. Moments later, my _brother_ appeared at the door.

I grinned at him. He glared back. "Max. Your first day as my sister and you set fire to the kitchen."

"Only the cooker." I protested, shifting closer to the fireplace where merry little flames were bouncing around.

"You have to be careful around the cooker." Fang's voice sounded strained. I suppressed a grin which would surely drive him mental. "And by the way, the beans tasted like shit."

I glared up at him. "_You _asked me to cook, so I did."

"I didn't know you couldn't."

"I can."

"Obviously not."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the poker, sticking it into the fireplace grate fiercely. "So beans and toast isn't my speciality."

"It's like the easiest recipe _ever._"

I grinned at his exasperated tone and continued to poke the pieces of coal around. The fire seemed to grow slightly.

"Uh... Max... you might want to-"

If he had only spoken sooner.

The next moment, I had somehow poked a couple of pieces of flame-covered coal out of the grate. The fire spread quickly to the piece of cloth hanging over the fireplace as I stood up and bit my lip. I heard Fang yell and in the next moment he had a fire extinguisher in his arms and was spraying out white stuff all over the flames.

"You have a fire extinguisher in your _house_?"

Fang growled and turned it on me. I screamed as the spray soaked into my pyjamas.

"You ruined my pyjamas you idiot!"

"You're trying to burn down my fucking house!"

"It was a mistake!"

"I've always lived in a house with a fireplace, and _no one_ has set fire to it before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Max..."

I glared at him furiously as I tried to wring my pyjama top try. He glared back, his dark eyes shooting daggers at me. Finally I got tired of the staring contest and marched past him.

"I'm going to bed."

I banged the door closed behind me and ran up the stairs, two at a time. I had no other pyjamas. I didn't have enough clothes to use any for sleeping. The solution was simple. I walked up another flight of stairs from my room and found Fang's, with the door slightly ajar. It had wooden walls, a sloping ceiling and one wall was painted black and was covered with posters and photographs and drawings. I marched over to his drawers and rifled through until I found a large enough shirt, the Star Wars logo on the front.

I grinned as I descended back to my room. All in all, it had been a pretty good first day.

**Ahah. Good start, huh? My lovely reviewers, please continue reviewing. You make this really worthwhile. And besides... more reviews mean faster updating :D**

**BY THE WAY, I don't know if I should use Fang's point of view in the next chappie? And for the rest of the story, obviously. Let me know!**

**x**


	4. Chapter 4

**THANK YOU SO MUCH ANYONE WHO REVIEWED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS :D You are all amaaaazing. So, as a treat, CHAPTER 4! Okay, maybe I should make you guys cookies too, seeing as I was going to do a chapter 4 anyway.**

**Quick shout out! JealousMindsThinkAlike – my first reviewer, and possibly my most loyal :D I'd just like to say Thanks for your awesomeness.**

**Okay, let's get moving.**

**WAIT. Guys, check out my new story (yes, I am mad, starting **_**another one**_**). It's called **_**Like a Book**_** – obviously based on Maximum Ride. Let me know what you think of the first chapter!**

**Happy reading!**

**X**

**FPOV**

"Wait there a minute, I'm going to go call... my sister."

Aunt Valencia nodded quickly, a big smile plastered onto her face. My Mum was right. She was definitely... queer. She was wearing one of those long dresses that reach to the floor – it was red and strapless. Her brown hair was arranged messily on top of her head, and she wore big, peacock feather earrings, a peacock feather in her hair, and eye shadow that looked suspiciously like the colours you normally find on a peacock. Her mouth was covered in bright red lipstick and she had a large, red carpet bag. Her accent was thick and her voice sounded like she was constantly excited about something.

Plus, she never stopped talking.

Thank God I wouldn't be the one dealing with it over the summer.

I ran up the stairs, two at a time, until I reached the room Max was staying in. I knocked twice.

"Max?"

No reply.

I knocked again. "Max, get up."

Nothing.

I groaned and opened the door. On the bed was a lump that could only be... my "sister". I sighed and made my way over to her, stepping over her suitcase and belongings that were strewn across the floor.

"Yo, sleepy head." I nudged her. She groaned loudly.

"Take them to the store..." She mumbled.

I raised an eyebrow and took hold of one edge of the mattress. "Max, you're going to be very cold in a minute if you don't get your arse out of bed."

"Get lost." She wrapped herself up tighter in the duvet.

I sighed. All that was visible now was her mop of dirty blonde hair. I tugged a strand, and she lifted her hand to swat me away.

I glanced at the bed side table, where there was a glass of water. I smirked and took it in my hand.

"Last chance." I said quietly, leaning forward slightly. She mumbled something. I shrugged, and after a moment's hesitation, poured the water on her head.

"What the-"

I couldn't help stumbling away from the bed and bursting into laughter when Max shot up, swearing loudly, water dripping down onto her face. She glowered at me furiously.

"Morning, sweetums." I grinned at her. It was then that I noticed exactly what she was wearing. "Hey. That's my..."

"Yeah, your Star Wars shirt, _sweetums_." She growled, running her fingers through her hair. "After you destroyed my pyjamas I had to take _something_ to wear."

I frowned. It wasn't so much the shirt. Well, _yes, _it was a piss take that she took my stuff – but it was the fact that she was _only _wearing the shirt which took me by surprise. Thankfully, it was a pretty large one and reached to around the middle of her thigh, but the rest of her long, toned legs were clearly visible, and it took all my power to keep my eyes on her pale, freckled face.

_Jesus._

"She's here." I muttered.

Max raised an eyebrow before throwing her hands up in the air. "Who Fang? The tooth fairy? Mother Theresa? Be specific. I'm not a morning person."

I smirked. "Our Aunt."

"Oh."

Max sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. "Fine, let's go."

I made sure I was the first to walk down the stairs – it would sort of defeat the point if Max was in front and Aunt Valencia saw me staring at her legs when she's my... sister. I glanced back quickly to make sure she was still following. She yawned and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Is this her?" Aunt Valencia was at the bottom of the stairs, grinning from ear to ear, her peacock earrings wavering slightly as she stepped forward. "Is this my niece?"

"Yes." I looked at Max who walked forward confidently and wrapped herself around my Aunt like she had known her for her entire life. I stuck my hands into my pockets and stood back, watching the scene with amusement, and keeping my eyes studiously _off _the back of Max's legs. Aunt Valencia rubbed her back gently, then stood back to look at her.

"My, you are a beauty." Max grinned. "Well, I suppose you know who I am. You can call me Auntie if you must, but I much prefer Val. You know, it was such a surprise when your mother offered for me to stay here for the summer holidays. It's such a brilliant get away, and a wonderful chance to spend time with my nephew and niece." She wrapped an arm around Max who smiled up at her, while I leant against the stairway and waited for her to finish this acceptance speech.

"It's great to finally meet you." Max said, sounding super sincere. I resisted the urge to raise a questioning eyebrow at her. Since when was she an actress?

"And you, my dear." She paused and glanced at me. "Odd isn't it? This whole non-identical twin thing."

Max shrugged and glanced at me. "We act the same a lot of the time."

I pressed my lips together, not wanting to yell out in protest and blow our cover.

"You know," Aunt Val continued, her eyes twinkling slightly. "Fang here hasn't ever told me your name."

Max smirked. "Maximum, but you can call me Max, Aunt Val."

Max seemed to be getting into this whole Aunt and niece thing just fine.

"Lovely." Aunt Val smiled broadly. "I'm sure we'll have a brilliant time together.

This was probably a good time for me to make my escape.

"Hey, Aunt Val, I actually need to go now." I began, straightening my back and beginning to edge towards the front door. She frowned at me.

"Why's that, Fang, dear?" I cringed internally at her stern voice. _Please don't say she's going to put up a fight._ I cleared my throat hurriedly.

"I have band practice. With my band."

Max snorted and I shot a glare in her direction.

"Well, that is a shame." Aunt Val shook her head slowly, her earrings wobbling as she did so. "I was hoping to spend some time together. You know, to bond? We could make cookies."

"Oh my God." I looked at Max in exasperation. She was staring at Aunt Val like she was the mother of Christ. "Cookies?"

"Mmm."

Max looked at me, an odd look on her face. "Fang." She said, sounding urgent. "Cookies."

I sighed and dragged a hand down my face. "Honestly, I think I should-"

"Nonsense." Aunt Val reached forward and took hold of my arm. "You can spare some time away from your... band."

I groaned quietly as she dragged me along with her. Max was skipping excitedly.

"Cookies!" She squeaked. She glanced back at me and grinned. "Isn't it great, Fang?"

I sighed. "Yeah." I muttered. "Cookies."

**Teehee. I love Aunt Val. Listen guys... I realise that I have COMPLETELY CHANGED Dr. M's character, but I hope you like it all the same. Let me know if you do... or don't. I'll be a happy bunny either way. :D**

**Oh, and sorry about the kinda short chappie. I'll make the next one longer to make up for it. **

**x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Sorry this took ages to come out, school's been pretty hectic. Design and tech has been taking over my life and then there's the exams coming up pretty soon... so I haven't had that much time to write. But here's chappie 5!**

**And OMG... THANK YOU to my reviewers! You guys are incredible. I love you.**

**This is a little treat for the Royal Wedding (which I watched with much amusement, basically staring at Prince Harry through the whole thing)**

**Happy reading! x**

**MPOV**

This was so worth it.

Worth what, you wonder? Well... worth all the trouble me, my _brother _and my _aunt _had to go through in order to make these batch of cookies. Serious hell. I suppose the Mighty Fang would attempt to blame it on me... but that would only be because I destroyed the first batch with my awesome cooking skills – slight problem with the amount of flour I put into the mix. It came out looking like elephant shit.

But he was just in a terrible mood because my "Aunt Val" thought it would be better for him to join us in some family bonding time. It appeared that bonding for Fang involved leaning dejectedly against the counter and resting his chin on his fist, refusing to communicate with us when we asked if he liked chocolate chips.

Frankly, that was his problem, not mine.

And here I was now. Devouring the delicious fruit of our labour.

"Can I go yet?"

"Shut up, Fang."

I laughed through a mouthful of cookies. "Yeah Fang. Shut it. You're ruining the moment."

He rolled his eyes. "My band's waiting for me."

"You don't have a band."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Er... yes I do."

"Nu-uh. You said you were _starting up _a band."

Fang groaned and dragged his hands down his face. "Aunt Val, please?"

I grinned at his hopeful face. It was actually pretty cute. As cute as a run over puppy. Aunt Val seemed to think so too, as she raised her eyebrows at him. He scowled back until she sighed and waved her cookie at him.

"Alright, alright. Get out of this house." I held back laughter as Fang pulled himself upright, making a pointed face at the ceiling like he was trying to communicate to God how fed up he was. I watched as he slammed the door behind him. Aunt Val looked at me and grinned. "So. What should we do?"

I shrugged. "More cookies?"

She laughed. "Thanks anyway, but I think I've had one too many." She patted her flat stomach and marched to the bin to throw her half eaten cookie into it.

I gaped at her. "You-"

"Why don't you invite some friends over?"

I swallowed hard, trying not to pay attention to the utter _waste _of a perfectly good cookie, and walked to the door Fang had just marched out of, wiping my hands down on my jeans and nodding.

"Alright. I'll call Nudge and Ella."

I ran up the stairs two at a time, burst through my bedroom door and leapt onto my bed before grabbing my phone and typing out the numbers of my friends, each in turn – I had memorized them by now, considering the number of times I called them each week.

An hour later, my two friends were standing at the front door.

"Maxie!" Nudge threw herself into my arms, and I hugged her back tentatively before making a quick point about my neck being on the verge of breaking in half. Next, it was Ella's turn.

"I can't believe you actually agreed to this." She murmured as they walked inside, looking around themselves like they did in the movies. I shrugged.

"I owed him a favour."

"This is an amazing house." Nudge said. She walked straight to a painting on the wall, touching the brim gently before bending her head to read the author's name. "Huh. I've heard of this guy."

"Where's the aunt?" Ella whispered, squeezing my arm. I lead them to the kitchen where Aunt Val had the music on the radio playing full blast, and was dancing around herself. We watched on, until I noticed the cookie in her hand.

"I thought you said you were full." I said with a grin. She turned to look at us and her face broke out into a delighted smile.

"Hey! You must be Nudge." She went straight to Nudge. "And you must be Ella." She touched Ella on the arm. I stared at her.

"How did you know who was who?"

She glanced at me. "Nudge is obviously a Nudge, so the other could only be an Ella."

I smirked. "Right. Well, guys, this is my Aunt Val."

"Pleased to meet you." Ella smiled sweetly at her.

"And you." Aunt Val stuffed the rest of the cookie in her mouth and sighed. "What do you girls plan on doing?"

I looked at Nudge and Ella. They shrugged simultaneously. I looked back to Aunt Val and shrugged in response. She tapped her chin, as if in thought.

"You could... decorate Fang's bedroom." I stared at her. "I've been inside it, you see. It's a tad... plain, if you catch my drift."

Ella smirked immediately. I soon followed. It took Nudge slightly longer, but eventually she released the common _ooooh _of understanding.

"We'd better get busy, huh?" I grinned at them before leaving Aunt Val in the kitchen

"Call me if you need any help!" She yelled. I laughed and lead Ella and Nudge up to Fang's room. The only time I had been here was to steal one of his shirts, and even then I hadn't looked closely at everything inside the room. I remembered the sloping roof, one black painted wall and the posters that covered it.

Now I noticed the acoustic guitar in the corner, the pile of books and folders at one end, black clothing spread across the floor that made it look like tar had spilt everywhere, even the small brown teddy bear on the bed.

"Aww." I held the bear up by its paws. Nudge giggled. I took the bear to the notice board on Fang's door and stuck two pins through his paws so it looked like he was crucified.

"What did the teddy ever do to you!" Ella yelled from across the room. I glanced at her, and was met with something black thrown in my face. I pulled it off... then realised what it was.

"Oh my _god_!" I threw Fang's... undergarment... back at a hysterical Ella and followed up by going to the same drawer and throwing out a few more interesting items.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Ella and I looked pointedly at Nudge. She shrugged. "One of us needs to be the martyr."

In no less than half an hour, Fang's room was a newly decorated place. We found pictures of him as a kid – a cute kid, too – and stuck them on the walls with post-it notes beside to add our own comments. We trashed his drawer, his desk, his wardrobe... we hung his underwear from the ceiling. We pasted posters of Justin Bieber on the walls.

"This is amazing." Ella murmured, stepping back to view our handiwork.

"Big improvement." I replied with a cheeky grin in her direction.

"What should we do now?"

I shrugged. "Cookies?"

We all went running back to the kitchen where we informed Aunt Val of our success. She laughed and gave us our just prize, before we heard the front door bang open and several male voices float inside.

I looked at Aunt Val who motioned for me to get my arse up the stairs and hide before Fang came in. I grabbed Ella and Nudge by the wrists and dragged them up the stairs with me, before we ran into my room and banged the door shut.

"Maybe he won't notice." Nudge whispered. I stared at her.

"Who wouldn't notice all that shit?" Ella hissed scornfully. I smirked and shushed them when I heard approaching footsteps. I could hear Iggy and Gazzy's voices. At least they would be present to offer emotional support.

His voice became clearer. "I don't know." He was saying, before his breath seemed to cut off.

A moment later, I heard Iggy and Gaz burst into laughter. Fang still hadn't made a noise.

"Dude!" Iggy gasped. "I didn't – know – you liked – Justin-"

Ella stifled a laugh. I grinned at her. What had happened to Fang?

"This is something, Fang. Really something." Gazzy's amused voice floated through the door.

"Love the boxers." Iggy snorted.

I waited.

Surely Fang had to say _something_.

The whole point was to-

"MAX, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

There we go.

"Shit." I whispered. First place Fang would come to find me would be my room, seeing as it was obvious I was here with the closed door and everything. I quickly flung the door open and ran out, hardly expecting to find myself smacking straight into a hard black chest.

"Max." Woah. I didn't know Fang could growl.

I stepped back and grinned tentatively at him. "Ha. Ha. Hi, Fangy."

He looked murderous. I probably looked like I was going to burst out laughing in his face any minute. It didn't help that he was holding one of his lovely undergarments in his fist. He glared at me, black eyes flashing dangerously.

"Um... I'll just..." I indicated to the staircase nervously. "Go."

I broke out into a sprint, running to the staircase before leaping onto the banister and sliding down backwards. Through the whole thing I could see Fang who was now running after me, the boxers disposed of. He jumped onto the banister and began to slide just as I reached the bottom and raced to the kitchen. Aunt Val turned to raise a questioning eyebrow at me as I burst through the door, but I only offered her a weak grin and pushed through the door to the sitting room. I could still hear Fang making death threats from behind me.

I knew my life was in danger now. Making a hurried detour, I ran back through the kitchen, straight past a still furious Fang. _Sad_, I thought to myself. _I thought he'd have calmed down by now._

"Max, I swear to God you are going to regret it."

I tried not to collapse at how close he was by now. I started to run back up the stairs.

"Be nice to each other!" Aunt Val's voice yelled from the kitchen. I couldn't help allowing a laugh to break through my lips. I was completely out of breath now, and rushed into Fang's room where Iggy, Gazzy, Ella and Nudge were all assembled, all looking immensely amused.

"Max!"

I bit my lip and grabbed a pair of scissors as Fang burst into the room. He glared at me. I glared back and waved the scissors in front of me.

"Come any closer..." I trailed off, the scissors still held out. He rolled his eyes and stepped forward. Quickly, I bounced back and put the now open scissors against the strings of the guitar I had spotted earlier.

I heard a faint gasp from Gazzy's direction, and watched as Fang's eyes widened slightly. I grinned menacingly.

"Move away." I said calmly. Fang's face hardened, but he stepped back. "Now. Are you going to let me live?"

"For now." He growled.

I smirked. "And can Nudge and Ella stay for a sleepover?"

"Who?" I looked at Iggy. I pointed to my friends and introduced them quickly before turning back to Fang. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why?" He groaned. "What did I ever do to you?"

I grinned and in a flash, removed the scissors, grabbed Nudge and Ella, and bounced out of the room with a loud, "Thanks, Fangy!"

I heard him groan again behind me, and me, Nudge and Ella burst into laughter as soon as we entered my room and banged the door behind us.

"Seriously." Nudge gasped, dropping on my bed. "I seriously thought he was going to pee himself."

I laughed. Ella looked slightly more thoughtful. I poked her shoulder and raised a questioning eyebrow. She shrugged.

"Which one was Gazzy?" She asked.

"The short one."

"So... the other one's Iggy?"

I nodded. Ella didn't reply and began to talk about the prank again.

**FPOV**

Iggy and Gaz emerged from Max's bedroom, the buckets in their hands. I raised an eyebrow in means of asking if they were successful. Iggy made a thumbs up sign, before closing the door as quietly as possible behind him.

I grinned at them and we went back to my room, waiting for the fun to begin.

**MPOV**

"What the-"

I stared in horror, bleary eyed at the alarm clock which was blaring furiously beside my bed. It read _02:05._ Why the hell was it sounding now? Ella and Nudge began to complain, so I quickly threw my arm across to turn the stupid thing off.

As soon as my fist hit the top of the clock, everything seemed to go wrong.

A green mist began to fill the room, shortly before the most horrifying smell broke through my senses. I heard Nudge scream and Ella begin to cough as I tried to get out of bed and out of the room, my fist held over my mouth.

Slight problem.

I couldn't get up. I seemed to be surgically attached to the bed. Vaguely I could see Ella and Nudge having similar difficulties in their sleeping bags.

"What- the- _fuck_?" I struggled against whatever it was that was holding me tightly to the bed, but it seemed impossible to get up. I groaned and fell back, the smell burning through my nose, making me gag. I was on the verge of throwing up messily everywhere as I watched Ella and Nudge bump into each other as they tried to get up, sleeping bags attached.

I turned my head into the pillow, oxygen slowly filtering out of my lungs.

"Nudge, _move_!"

"You move!"

"We're gonna be stuck here forever!"

Ella broke down into another spasm of coughing. I glanced up. They were stuck in the doorway.

I was going to commit suicide.

No.

Scratch that.

I was going to kill someone.

Namely Fang. Because he obviously did this. Because I could hear him and his stupid friends laughing hysterically from their room.

"FANG!" It's only fair he knows. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

**Sooooooo...? How was it? :D Please review my lovelies. x**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello dear reviewers :D I am SO happy with how this story is going. I have it all planned out. You guys can stick in little guesses about what's going to happen if you wish... I won't be the one complaining ;)**

**I've realised something. Since the last book in the Maxie Ride series is called "The End of Maximum Ride"... does that possibly mean that she's going to die? Because frankly, Mr Patterson has left a whole load of loose ends that he needs to sort out in only one book... is it even possible? So is he going to... you know... KILL OFF THE CHARACTERS SO THERE WON'T BE ANY PROBLEMS TO SOLVE BECAUSE THEY'LL BE DEAD?**

**Sorry. Brain malfunction. Anywhooos... this chapter shall be short. Sorry :( But the next one is a longer... promise! Let me know your thoughts. You know how much I love them. ;)**

**Happy reading x**

**FPOV**

My first official band practice was over. I was exhausted by now, slouching through the streets, thinking of the nice warm bed that would be meeting me once I got home...

Oh, the practice. It was... good. Iggy was on drums, Gazzy on the piano, and me on the guitar, obviously. We had a few other guys playing random things like Ted on the xylophone, but we initially decided that it was going to be a non-singer band. Firstly because we had no decent singers. And secondly because we would let our listeners to revel in the wonderful sounds created by our instruments. Real music.

Hopefully.

I yawned again and shifted the guitar case to the other shoulder. It had been a long day. I hadn't had much of a lunch either, so I was starving.

I rounded the corner and began to speed up as I approached the house. It was basked in sunshine... all we needed now was someone playing the romantic music in the corner as I approached my heaven...

I pushed the gate open and turned around-

"What the-"

I stared down at the creature on my doorstep. It stared back. We remained in this position, staring awkwardly at each other for a while before I groaned and glared at the front door.

"MAX!"

The stupid, lousy...

"MAX, GET YOUR ARSE OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

It would give the neighbours a heart attack, hearing the quiet, thoughtful Fang bellowing at the top of his lungs outside the front door, but I didn't care. What was I to do?

I watched as the kitchen window that directly faced the front of the house began to move up with a resounding creak. A moment later, Max's dirty blonde head appeared, and she grinned broadly at me. I glared back, clenching my fist around the strap of the guitar case.

"Max."

"Fangy?"

I took a deep breath in and out. "Max, what is this thing on my doormat?"

Max turned her head to look down at the exact _thing _I was talking about.

"It's a dog, Fangy."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "What's it doing here?"

She sighed dramatically. "Fang, honestly. His name is Toby. Have some respect."

"Max..." I trailed off dangerously. She smiled broadly at me.

"Aunt Val and I thought we needed some young life in the house."

I stared at her, feeling my mouth drop open slightly. "Young life?" I repeated weakly. She nodded wisely. I groaned and looked back at the great _beast _that was still staring at me. It was a bulldog. A big one. A calm one, too. He didn't make a sound as I tried to _glare _him out of his position so I could get through my front door.

When that failed, I turned back to my beaming _sister_.

"Max, why is he out here?" See? I was doing my best to be patient.

"So he can protect the house."

"From who?" I yelled, running my fingers through my hair in an exasperated fashion. Max rolled her eyes.

"From you, obviously."

"I live here!"

"You need to know the password, otherwise Toby won't let you in."

"For f-"

"Ah-ah! No swearing in front of Toby!"

"AUNT VAL!"

"Keep your voice down Fang, you'll disturb the neighbours."

"AUNT VAL, COME HERE NOW!"

Aunt Val's head joined Max's at the window. She looked at me, then down at _Toby _fondly.

"Isn't he the sweetest thing?" She cooed. I rolled my eyes.

"No. Can you move him, please?"

"He's a guard dog, Fang." Max said with a sigh. "You can't _move him _from his position."

"I'm so tired."

"So's Toby. He's been patrolling all day. But do you hear him complain?"

"Max has a point." Aunt Val said seriously. I gaped at her.

What had I done wrong? What was it that God thought bad enough to throw these two... crazy people in my house? With a dog? Called Toby?

"Can I come in?" I said in a deathly voice. Aunt Val looked at Max, who looked back. They shrugged at each other. I tried to control my breathing.

"I guess." Max muttered, before her head moved out of the window frame. A moment later, she appeared at the door and leaned down to wrap her arms around... _Toby._ I sighed and refrained myself from groaning again.

_Soon, I can just take a shower and have dinner and sleep for a while and everything will be fine..._

"Sorry Fang, Toby won't leave his guard." I stared at her. She rolled her eyes. "You'll have to step _over _the dog, Fangy. Think you can manage that?"

I ignored her patronizing tone and moved to step over the dog as she straightened up.

It turns out that stepping over a bull dog which for some reason happens to be guarding your door is a lot harder than it looks.

I tripped over _Toby _and managed to go tumbling downwards, landing on something soft.

I caught my breath back quickly, only to look down at Max who was sandwiched between me and the floor, and my breath was knocked out of me all over again. We were _so close._ Yes, she was annoying. Yes, she was possibly the worst fake-sister in history.

But she sure had nice eyes.

I felt my face warm slightly and took it as my cue to roll off her and stand up hurriedly, brushing down my jeans and marching to the foot of the stairs. I glanced behind me. Max was still on the floor, staring up at me in shock. I bit my lip to suppress a smirk at her flabbergasted expression and quickly ran up to my room, banging the door shut behind me, and trying to keep her freckles and cute little nose out of my head as I showered.

Did I call her nose _cute_?

Ignore that.

Twenty minutes later, I ran back downstairs and to the kitchen for dinner. I was starved. _Wonder what Aunt Val has brewing for us today..._

I stopped short when I got to the door and felt my mouth flop open.

My seat.

I stared at my seat.

Max looked up at me and grinned.

I kept staring at my seat.

"Max?"

"Mmm?"

"There's a dog in my seat."

She snorted. "Did I forget to mention, Fangy? Toby's joining us for dinner."

**Ahahahahah only Aunt Val would allow a dog to join them at the dinner table. Sorry for the short chappie guys. Still... any good?**

**x**


	7. Chapter 7

**I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! WE'RE OVER 100 REVIEWSSSSSSSSSS god you guys make me happy :D Thank you so much for every comment I got, and yes, I love Toby too. He's just too cool.**

**So. School's been stressful. I've been staying every day after school till like 7 to finish work... that's what you get for doing art and dt for GCSE. Sigh.**

**Anyhoos, I'm over my initial stress and have scribbled this down for you :D CHAPTER 7! Whoopieeee.**

**By the way, I'm thinking about changing my name and updating my profile a tad. Should I? I dunno. I'm quite a girl for change, you see.**

**Oh, shut up me. Go on guys. Happy reading. X**

Ringing.

I groaned and turned over in bed, burying my face in the pillow and trying to block the noise out. Who in their right mind comes to ring the bloody doorbell so early in the morning? Do they not realise it is precious time us _normal _people use to rest our weary selves?

"MAX!"

I turned over, furious. "YOU GET IT YOU LAZY ARSE!"

"I'M SLEEPING."

"I DON'T CARE!"

"UNGRATEFUL MUCH?"

"SHUT UP YOU TWO, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

I groaned and threw my pillow at the door. _Useless..._ I rolled off the bed and landed with a thud on the ground. After several moments of waiting for energy to come back to me, the ringing restarted, as fierce as before. I moaned.

"I hate you, Fang." I said as I pulled open my bedroom door and made for the staircase. All I heard was a muffled grunt and I rolled my eyes before sliding down the banister at top speed until I got to the bottom.

They were still ringing like a tornado was about to take the house up.

"I'm coming!" I sang before pulling the door open and staring, bleary eyed, at our early visitor.

It was a girl with long, straight red hair, smooth creamy skin and bold green eyes. She had heavy black shadow around her eyes and was wearing a black dress that clung to her curves and ended just below the area no one wants to see. Around her were littered suitcases. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and yawned.

"Hi." I mumbled. She continued to stare at me accusingly like I should have something more constructive to say. I raised my eyebrows and leant against the doorway, waiting for the conversation to get underway.

A moment later, a bang announced the arrival of dear Fang, who clearly realised some thing was wrong when Toby didn't chase the postman down the street or I didn't yell at the pizza man for coming to the wrong house before taking the pizza and sending him on his way.

He stumbled to my side. I glanced at him, and tried to control the urge that was building inside of me to stare.

Yes folks. I wanted to stare at Fang. Why? He was shirtless.

It should be illegal for guys to invite random girls to their houses, ask them to be their sister, then prance around half naked.

I shook my head quickly and looked back to the girl, who was now smiling.

"Lissa?"

Interesting name.

"Fang."

Interesting voice. Kind of... high pitched. I glanced at Fang. He was scratching his head and staring at _Lissa _like she was a figure of his imagination.

"What are you doing here?"

Lissa sighed deeply. "Listen, Fang. I know we haven't seen each other for a long time. And I know it could be potentially awkward. But... my parents are away for the rest of the Summer in Dubai and I have nowhere to stay!"

She sighed again and looked beseechingly at Fang, who remained staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. I tried to push the smirk off my face.

"Fang, could I stay here with you?"

I had to laugh. There was no other way to react to the face Fang made. It was like someone had told him Christmas will never happen again. Lissa turned to look at me.

"Who are you?" She said after a few moments of silent... looking.

"My sister." Fang said quickly. I grinned at him before nodding at Lissa.

"You never told me you had a sister." She protested, looking dubious. Fang ran his fingers through his hair. I felt my stomach clench slightly. What? He was shirtless and running his fingers through his dark, soft hair! And I'm a girl!

Sorry. Back to the story.

"Must have forgot." He smiled pathetically.

"Oh." Lissa smiled back, looking hopeful. "So... can I?"

She indicated to the bags lying at her feet. Fang pressed his lips together, looking tortured.

"Hey." They both looked at me. I smiled broadly. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Yeah." Fang muttered. What can I say? He so obviously didn't want Lissa to be staying. I was just helping him out. Plus, what kind of a girl just _turns up_ on some one's doorstep asking if she can live with them?

"Our aunt is staying for the summer." I said to Lissa, who narrowed her cat like eyes at me. "She wants to... you know... _bond _with us. It would be kind of awkward if some stranger was in the house at the same time."

Lissa snorted... unattractively I may add. "I'm no stranger. Fang and I went out for two months."

I glanced at Fang, absorbing the information silently. _So this is the kind of girl he goes for._ Tall, skinny, pretty, red-haired and rude. He was staring at his bare feet like they were giving him an epiphany. I raised my eyebrows.

"That so?" I said conversationally. "Well."

Fang cleared his throat. "Come in, Lissa."

_What?_

"What?"

Lissa smirked at me. "What's your name?" She asked in that stupid nasal voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Max." I growled.

"Well _Max, _could you help me with my bags?"

She stepped in and took hold of Fang's arm before pulling him further into the house.

So... in other words... _take my bags up for me..._

Bitch.

"Yo, brother!" Fang looked at me over his shoulder, still looking half asleep. Poor child. Probably doesn't even realise what he's doing. "Where's the princess sleeping?"

Lissa's shoulders stiffened. Fang sighed.

"Um... we don't have any other spare rooms." He muttered.

"I can sleep in your room, Fang."

I DON'T THINK SO.

"How about my room?" I said sweetly. _What are you doing, Max?_

Fang raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That'd be good."

I nodded stiffly before taking hold of Lissa's various pieces of luggage and hauling them up the stairs. Why was I doing this? To show I was the better person. And to sabotage some of her stuff once I got to my... sorry... our room.

Ugh. The things I do to keep Fang alive.

As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I was met with a pair of slippered feet. I looked up to meet Aunt Val's curious gaze and smiled weakly.

"There's some chick staying at our house for the rest of the summer." I explained quickly before moving the bags past Aunt Val. Silently, she helped me take them to my room. I chucked them in the corner before sighing and collapsing onto the bed.

"So... who's this chick?"

"Fang's ex." I muttered. Aunt Val raised an eyebrow.

"Really." She nodded slowly. "I'd better go do the whole parentage thing and give them a word or two of advice." She began to move out the doorway. "You know, no sex while I'm not in the house-"

"UGH!"

Aunt Val laughed. I listened to her move down the stairs and sighed into my pillow. Another girl in the house for the rest of the summer, hanging off Fang like the crystals on a chandelier. Brilliant. I sighed again before standing up and looking at the five bags I had just pulled up the stairs. I opened the pink suitcase and rifted through, my hands coming in contact with nothing but the silky material of expensive clothes. I touched something hard and smooth. A small bottle of shampoo... in that suitcase with the clothes for some reason.

It isn't _rare _for shampoo bottles to open mysteriously and ruin everything around it, right?

I snapped the lid off the bottle and put it back in the suitcase, before sticking in a tennis racket from the corner of the room and mixing it round like a soup until all you could see was material covered in pink gloop.

_Perfect._

I didn't bother going downstairs until half an hour later for dinner, because even this uncompromising situation would _not _ruin my appetite. I walked into the kitchen to find Aunt Val glaring and Fang staring at Lissa who was shrieking at Toby like he could actually talk back to her.

"What the _hell _are you doing at the table? You're _dirty_! This is _gross."_

Oh, for Christ's sake. Even Fang didn't make this much of a fuss when he found the new member of the family sitting in his seat.

"Chill out Lissa." I slipped into the seat next to Toby. "He won't pee on the seat or anything."

"Oh _yuck._" Lissa sighed dramatically before lowering herself onto the seat across the table from Toby. She glanced at Fang who was poking at his sausages half heartedly. I decided to ignore them and joined Tobes in shovelling my food down.

"Hey Fang." Lissa touched his arm. Freak. Why does she feel the need to touch him? Fang isn't _physically deprived._ "Thanks so much for letting me stay."

Fang nodded, refusing to look up. I lowered my head to smirk without anyone noticing.

"Aren't you going to eat, dear?" Aunt Val said loudly.

Lissa looked up at her like she hadn't noticed she existed, before smiling slightly snottily. "Um... I'm so sorry. But I'm a vegetarian."

Typical.

Aunt Val nodded slowly, a slightly annoyed look crossing her face before she went to the fridge to pull out some things to make a salad. "Right. Of course."

I looked at Fang again. He was still staring down at his plate. Well... it was his own fault for accepting his obviously psychotic ex into his house for the next three weeks! I had dealt with him and his crazy friends for a few weeks now. But him, his crazy friends and his ex-with-the-very-high-voice-and-odd-eating-choices? Too much for any girl to handle.

I got up to put my plate in the sink and took Toby's with me. Aunt Val was attacking a cucumber with a knife. She glanced at me, before lowering her head to whisper in my ear.

"What a bitch."

I do love my aunt.

**I was trying to make Lissa kind of not so annoying at the start... but my attempt failed epically. Sorry. There's just no way to make that girl **_**nice.**_

**So. Whatchathink? x**


	8. Chapter 8

**BONJOOOOUR! :D I feel like I've been dead to writing recently. School is so unfair. Life is so unfair. WHY DO I HAVE SO MUCH GODDAMN HOMEWORK?**

**Anyway. My reviewers are beautiful, of course. I'm going to make a club for them. I'm working on the name for the club... Want to join? It's free! JUST REVIEW!**

**Happy reading :D x**

I sat up in bed and put my hand against my neck. _God_, it was hot. Majorly hot. The kind of hot where you pull off your pyjama pants and sit in bed with the duvet thrown off you, hair tied up, window open wide enough for burglars to amble in at any opportunity and think about cold stuff. Like ice. Or the North Pole.

_Or water._

I pulled on my pyjama pants before quickly slipping out from my room. Water. A good idea.

I made sure that I made as little noise as possible, tip-toeing determinedly down the stairs and creeping to the kitche-

I stopped. I stepped back. I looked into the living room.

_What the..._

Fang and Lissa. On the sofa. Together. I made sure I wasn't in plain view and stared at them. They weren't making out, _per se,_ but surely this was bad enough? Lissa was _on_ him. As in... on top of him. Almost. Even _I _could see her cleavage and she had her back to me! A small, unsteady feeling began to grown in my stomach as I watched Lissa take Fang's hand in hers and begin to draw patterns on his arm. I couldn't help raising a sceptical eyebrow at her skimpy nightclothes and Fang's indifferent look which was directed at the wall.

_Should I step out and tell her to get her hands off him?_

Well. He was my brother, right?

I couldn't exactly just jump out and confront them, though...

Firstly, they would ask me why I was spying on them.

Secondly, I would have no respect left.

Why am I even _bothered?_

Fang turned to look at Lissa as she bent her head, and I watched their lips crash together. Why the sudden display of affection? And why did _I _have to be present?

I sighed and turned back to walk into the kitchen for a glass of water.

...

"Max."

"Max!"

"Max?"

"_WHAT_?"

Ella stared at me. "Um... pass the toast please?"

I sighed and shoved the plate of toast towards her, turning back to face my cereal grumpily. There was a slightly elongated silence in the room... a room with _six people_ and a dog inside it. I ventured a glance upwards and found myself the object of attention of everyone except Lissa, who was staring at Fang like he was a Greek god, and Toby who was frowning at his breakfast.

"You alright?" Nudge said, looking slightly worried. I was tempted to demand who had invited her and Ella for breakfast, but stopped myself by ducking my head again. Obviously it was Aunt Val. She was like a new addition to my little friendship group.

Sad, but true.

"Max?"

"Mmm?"

"You okay?"

"Fine."

Silence again. What was it with these people? I sighed and looked up to make eye contact with Nudge. Instead I found myself staring at Fang – it was kind of difficult not to considering the fact he was looking straight at me.

"I didn't sleep well." I spoke directly to him, before looking back down again.

"Right."

"I'm going shopping today. Maybe you'd come with me, Max?"

I almost growled. _Almost._ I settled instead for looking up at Lissa pointedly, communicating through my bored expression that she was entirely crazy and a total bitch. Why? Because she knew I would rather die than shop. To some extent. This was all a show, for _Fangy_.

Woah. I'm starting to sound slightly protective...

"Uh, Max. You've been staring at Lissa for the past two minutes without blinking."

I glanced at Nudge and rolled my eyes. _"Sorry_."

I heard something about _PMS._ "I'm not on my period, for Christ's sake! Teenagers are _supposed _to have mood swings! It's part of our bloody growth system!"

More silence. More staring. More awkwardness.

I stood up, pushing my plate away moodily and marched out of the kitchen. What was their problem? Could they not give me five minutes of peace, without someone bursting out, _hey Max, what's wrong Max, you okay Max?_

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"_PISS OFF!"_

I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and in the next minute I found myself standing with my arms crossed, glaring at Fang who calmly glared back. I ignored the way his hair flopped over his eyes and the way the silver chain glinted against his neck and the way his trousers hung low... because these things had no effect on me whatsoever.

"What's your problem?" I demanded.

"What's _your _problem?"

"I have a lot of problems!"

"Such as?"

"You!"

"Max."

"Fang."

"Max!"

"Fang!"

Fang sighed and rubbed his face with his hand in a tired gesture. I almost felt sorry for him. Dealing with _me _for a sister must be enough to drive anyone around the bend.

Tough luck. He should have thought of that before he asked me to come here in the first place.

"Just tell me what's up and I can go practice."

I looked down at the guitar case in his hand and sighed. "Uh huh."

"Max."

"Why do you care?"

Fang just stared at me for a while, like I had said something really stupid. Which is odd. Because in all honesty, I never thought Fang actually... you know... _cared_ about me. I was here to keep his Aunt busy while he practiced his stupid band. We had nothing in any means of connection or... _friendship... _other than the fact that we were, you know, siblings.

Fang grinned. "You're my _sister_."

Bastard. "Not really, Fang. Just go practice with your crappy band and leave me in peace."

Fang sighed. "If you're going to be difficult."

"Yes."

A few moments passed.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

I stumbled backwards as Fang reached out and began to tickle me. Laughter broke out between my lips as I hunched over, trying to fend him off and failing miserably.

"Please..." I gasped. "Stop..."

Fang grinned again and pulled back. I lifted my head and stared at him for a few moments, enthralled by his... kind of cute smile.

"Tell me?"

Funny thing was that he actually seemed interested to know. Worried, even.

"Fang, how do you know something is wrong?"

"You don't make this much of a fuss for anything."

I looked at him for a long time before rolling my eyes. "I don't like her."

"Who?"

I made a face. "... _Lissa._"

Fang stared at me. "Seriously."

"Well, you would disagree." I muttered.

"You're jealous of Lissa?"

"What? No! That is not what I said!"

Fang shrugged. "You implied it."

I punched his shoulder, but he grabbed my wrist and reeled me to him until we were only a centimetre apart. I glared up at him angrily, trying to focus on his ear or something else that wouldn't render me speechless like those dark orbs or his black hair would.

God, I'm screwed.

"She kissed me, Max."

"Wha-"

Next thing I knew, Fang had lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss on my cheek. The area of my cheek which was dangerously close to my mouth. I felt my cheeks heat up and quickly folded my arms to retain a nonchalant appearance. Fang smirked at me before slinging the guitar case over his back and walking away from me.

I waited until I heard the bang of the front door, signalling his exit.

Now I could think. So...

_What the hell was that?_

...

"Have you seen Iggy lately?"

I looked up at Ella. "No."

"Okay." She turned away from me and pretended to be incredibly interested in the headboard of my bed.

"What are we having for lunch?"

What's with the questions? "Pasta."

"Is Lissa going to be there?"

"How should I know?"

Nudge stared at me. "Max, you really need to calm down."

I sighed. "Sorry. I just don't really like her."

"I don't either. Have you seen what she's wearing? It's like a handkerchief attached to her with a belt."

I grinned at Ella. "I do love you."

Ella leaned forward and took hold of my hand, smiling. "Welcome back."

"Welcome back to what?"

"The land of happy people."

I rolled my eyes. "I am happy."

"Now you are."

"Why did Fang agree to Lissa staying here in the first place?" Nudge asked.

I shrugged, attempting to appear disinterested, but truthfully, I just wanted to rant at them.

I tried not to speak.

I tried. I did.

No use.

"I just don't get what his problem is. She is such a... _slut _and obviously just wants to get him into bed, and it's like, well... why can't he just say, hey, Lissa, this is my house, piss off. I mean I _saw _them together."

"You did?"

"Yeah! Kissing! And I don't care or anything, but he's still acting like a total douche bag."

Ella sighed. "He is a guy Max."

"So?"

Nudge raised an eyebrow. "Guys will be guys."

"Yeah, but Fang's... Fang."

"Fang is a human being. Girls like Lissa wear what they wear and act like they do because they know guys like it. It's not Fang's fault, he's supposed to be attracted to her."

"That is utter bullshit."

"Max, I know you care about him-"

"I don't actually."

Nudge and Ella stared at me. It was quite disturbing. I felt like I was naked or something.

"What?"

They didn't speak.

"Come on, have I broke out into a wild rash or something?"

Still silence.

"What is it with you guys?"

"You saw them kissing." Nudge said quietly.

"You are annoyed." Ella continued.

"You want to kill Lissa." Nudge took up the next sentence.

"You like him."

It was my turn to stare.

"You've got to be kidding."

They looked at each other.

"Jesus." Ella said.

"Guys!" I squeaked. They began to stand up. Nudge reached out and grabbed Ella's hand.

"We need to discuss this." She said seriously.

"Oh, come on!"

"I can't believe it." Ella was shaking her head slowly as they walked out of the room.

I jumped up and called after them.

"You've got to be kidding! I do _not_ like him!"

They didn't turn around. I became desperate.

"HE'S MY FAKE BROTHER FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"

**Hahahaha. Ha. Oh golly. Max is so amusing. I hope you think so too! Penny for your thoughts? :D**

**x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey again :) I'm really enjoying writing this story... it's so much fun! Plus people seem to like it which gives me SUCH AN AMAZING FEELING. I changed my name and profile, as you can see. Soooo... rapidly moving on to the fruits of my labour :) CHAPTER 9! Wooppeeeee.**

**Happy reading x**

There is no way – and I repeat – _no way_, that I am in love with Fang.

No way!

Why would I be? Sure... he was hot. And occasionally funny. Amusing to be with. Caring.

Whatever. I DON'T LIKE HIM.

I was going to prove I had no feelings for the twerp if it killed me. I paced up and down my room for a while, considering my options, until I decided that Nudge and Ella had had enough "discussion time", and I should go and sort out this mess once and for all.

God, I had a headache.

I sighed and went downstairs, where I found my supposed "friends" lounging back on the sofa, talking in hushed whispers and throwing popcorn in their mouths.

The cheek of it! Not only were they having a private conversation about _me _and my love life – not that I had one – but they were also _eating _into the bargain?

I marched up to them, furious.

"Hi, _friends._"

They looked up at me simultaneously and offered me a nervous smile – obviously my anger was coming across pretty well.

"Listen, Max..." Nudge stood up and took my hand. I stared at her, trying to gauge the reason for the sympathetic look on her face. "If you do have feelings for Fang, then you really should just-"

"STOP!"

She stopped.

"One more word..." I hissed threateningly, pulling my hand away from hers. "One more word and I _swear _you will regret you were ever born..."

"You're overreacting a tad, don't you think, Max?"

I glared at Ella. "Overreacting?" I growled.

"Ha." Ella held up her hands, surrendering to my threat. "Jokes."

I nodded curtly. "I can prove to you that I don't like him, anyway."

"Really." Nudge looked at Ella and raised an eyebrow.

Bad move. It only got me worked up even more...

"We're going to have a party."

They stared at me. "A _what_?"

"You heard me. Invite every girl and guy you know. The ones you like anyway."

They continued to stare.

"I'll show you I don't like him."

"How exactly?" Ella demanded.

Well. I wasn't sure about that part yet.

"Don't worry about it." I waved them off.

"Seriously Max."

"I'll... you know... I can make out with _every guy there_... apart from Fang."

Woah.

Where was this coming from?

"Wow." Ella sighed. "Um... Max, I don't think-"

"I won't look at him twice."

"Max, seriously-"

"Call everyone! Be ready by seven!"

I ignored the rest of their anguished cries and walked slowly to the kitchen, trying to absorb what I had just gotten myself into. It was a screwed idea... I had to admit it... but honestly, I had to do _something_ about the Fang situation, and if it meant acting like a slut so they would _see_ we weren't interested, so be it.

"Hi."

I realised I had been standing in the doorway of the kitchen, staring vacantly into space, while Fang and Aunt Val waited for me to say something.

"Oh. Um... hey." I grinned nervously. Fang raised an eyebrow. "I need to... uh... tell you something."

"Shoot." He took a peanut from the packet in front of him and began to chew languidly on it.

"I'm having a party tonight."

The peanut came flying out. It dropped at my feet and I stared at it for a while before venturing to look up at Fang again.

"_What_?"

I swallowed. "Um... well, you see, the thing is, I just feel totally under-socialized, you know? And me, Nudge and Ella thought it would be a great idea if we invited over a few people to... you know... have a rave."

"A rave." He repeated quietly. I nodded.

A few seconds passed before Fang rolled his eyes and picked up another peanut. "No."

"Um... I've organized _everything_ Fang. You can't just say _no._" I had never lied so smoothly.

"Max, you can't just decide to have a party _out of the blue._"

"It's not out of the blue!"

"How long have you been planning it for?"

"Since... like... ages ago."

Fang groaned and smacked his palm against his forehead. "Seriously?"

"Mmm."

He groaned again. I waited, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling washing over me.

"I think it's a fine idea."

We looked up at Aunt Val simultaneously. I had hardly noticed she had been standing there. She grinned at me and winked before turning to Fang.

"You, young man, spend far too much time banging out ridiculous music with your chums. You need to meet new people, make new friends!" I glanced at Fang to see him gaping at her. She turned her head to address me. "What time?"

I swallowed. "Um... seven?"

She nodded. "I'll get the food ready. You and Fang go upstairs and sort yourselves out."

"What are you-"

"Now!"

Fang stood up abruptly so his chair went crashing backwards. Just as it fell, Lissa entered the room and looked around at us. The atmosphere must have been pretty... tense, to say the least.

"What's going on?" She said in her stupid high voice.

"_Max_ here is having a _party_." Fang bit out angrily.

I turned to glare at him and found myself greeting a pretty similar angry face. His mouth was pulled out in a thin line and his eyes flashed at me.

"Really?" Lissa sounded happy at least. "That's so great! I'll invite all my friends!"

She skipped off as me and Fang continued to stare each other out. Eventually it was Aunt Val who had to step in and shoo us out, saying something about _Max_ and _dress_.

_Ha. As if._

I walked up the stairs slowly until I reached my room, and upon closing the door, found myself facing two very excited looking girls – Nudge and Ella, that is. They were both practically pink in the face, eyes bright and phones held to their ears. In front of them was a piece of paper with words scrawled across it.

"What are you doing?"

They looked up at me and grinned.

"Max!" Ella squeaked, putting the phone down on the floor. "This party is going to be _awesome_."

I couldn't even conjure up a smirk. A wierd, stiff feeling had rooted in the pit of my stomach and refused to go away. I sighed and rubbed a hand across my face.

"Really."

"We've invited everyone." Nudge added. She held up the list and I couldn't help raising an eyebrow at the lengthy number of names which were written down it.

"Cool."

I opened my wardrobe door and pulled out a pair of reasonably clean looking jeans. As soon as I turned around, a choked sound broke through Nudge's lips.

"Oh my God, Max!"

"What?"

"You're not going to wear _that _to a party, are you?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"No." Ella stood up and took the jeans from me. "Nudge, turn off the mobiles. We've invited enough people. We have a bigger dilemma to sort out."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded as Nudge compiled to Ella's orders, and the latter pushed me down onto a chair and pulling out something dangerous looking from her bag.

"You're going to make an impression." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't necessary."

"Oh yes it is."

She lifted her hand. The dangerous thing she had been holding turned out to be a hairbrush.

...

It was seven o'clock and I was sitting in my now empty bedroom, staring at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn't bring myself to go downstairs, not yet. The fact that Fang would be ready to slit my throat would probably help in making me seem in no way attracted to him, but I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to _make out with every guy I saw._ I had already comforted myself with the fact that kissing _one _guy and studiously ignoring Fang would probably convince my friends that I didn't like him.

I was still unsure as to what had caused the sudden change of heart in Ella and Nudge. They were excited and heady, chattering constantly about whom they had invited and how much fun it would be. They probably didn't even remember the point of having the party in the first place.

I had eventually forced them out of my room, and sat there now, staring at myself.

I looked alright. I had to admit it. I had convinced Nudge and Ella to let me wear my best pair of pale, skinny jeans, but Nudge had forced me to wear one of Aunt Val's shirts that she had probably grown out of now. It was a thin vest which was decorated in a sort of striped tie-dye pattern. It hung loose on my bare shoulders and the material beneath my arms dropped down so the straps of my lacy black bra could be seen. Ella had pulled my hair back into a loose plait while Nudge put her artistic skills to use and put the slightest amount of make up on my face that accentuated my features.

I sighed and stood up when I heard the doorbell ring for the hundredth time, and the noise below me rocket. It was probably by time I got downstairs.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs moments later, staring around myself in surprise. Or shock. Or horror.

How had the harmless little party I had planned on having, escalate into _this_? People were... _strewn _everywhere. Under tables. Behind the sofa. On top of each other.

I spotted Ella in the back yard and struggled my way to her, pushing past the growing crowds of teenagers with bottles in their hands, laughing loudly and spewing total crap from their drunk mouths.

"Ella!" I gasped, pushing off some guy who had fallen onto me. "ELLA!"

She turned and beamed when she saw me. Behind her was Iggy, a glass in his hand, and a slightly goofy smile on his face. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. The idiots were flirting while my house was being trashed.

Well. Fang's house.

"Where did the alcohol come from?" I hissed as soon as I reached her.

"Some people brought it with them." She yelled back over the thumping music that someone had set up in the corner of the yard. People were _smoking _too.

I groaned. "Fang's going to slaughter me."

Ella laughed. "Are you joking? Fang's having the time of his life!"

I stared at her. She pointed over to the direction where the music was coming from, and I looked promptly, finding Fang drumming to the beat of the music on the fence. He chucked the drum sticks in the air, catching them deftly as they fell, and was then met with a round of applause from the scantily clad girls, and an onslaught of alcohol in his face from the guys.

I raised an eyebrow and was about to continue the conversation with Ella, but she had turned away from me and was walking somewhere with Iggy.

I sighed and turned around.

"Hey." I looked up to find myself staring into the face of a blonde haired guy. He had his hand on my elbow.

"Um... hi." I tried to release myself, but his grip tightened. I resisted the urge to punch his drunk face.

"What's your name?"

"Max." I said through clenched teeth.

He laughed. "Nice to meet you, Max."

I tried to pull away again.

"Aren't you going to ask what my name is?" He said, offering me a ridiculous attempt at a puppy face.

I rolled my eyes. "What's your name?"

"Dylan."

I nodded and finally released my arm from his hold. "Cool. See you later, Dylan."

"Wait!" He pressed something cold into my palm. I looked down at the half empty bottle, then back up at him. He grinned broadly. "I'll race you."

Dylan lifted his own bottle. It was a ridiculous idea, but something flashed in the back of my mind that this sort of _flirting _was exactly what I needed to get Ella and Nudge off my case. So, completely out of character, I grinned back at the shaggy haired boy and clinked my bottle with his.

"You're on."

We tipped the bottles back, and I felt the cold, strange tasting liquor work its way down my throat. I continued to swallow it down despite the knowledge that I was about to throw up. As soon as the bottle was empty, I lowered it from my mouth, wiping my chin with the back of my hand and exchanging another smile with Dylan.

Next thing I knew, he had his hand on my neck and was reeling me closer to him, until our mouths crashed into each other clumsily. A laugh escaped my lips and my vision was disorientated, so I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped the front of his shirt for support.

We broke apart eventually, and I raised my hand to my mouth, wanting to brush away the frustrating taste of his tongue. But I seemed incapable of even that now that my brain felt like mush, and I settled for grinning at him again.

I stepped back, but stumbled on something invisible. I felt Dylan's arms wrap around me, and as I lifted my head to offer him a thank you, I stopped and stared instead.

At Fang and Lissa. Because it appeared that those two in the same sentence always equals _kissing fiercely like their lives depended on it._ The last time I had caught them, though, Fang hadn't seemed to be into the kiss as much as her. This time, his hand was on her waist, and hers were clutching his neck.

I tore away from Dylan, pouting as I stumbled into the house and up the stairs.

_Stupid... stupid... idiot..._

My head was throbbing. I didn't bother closing the door, and stood instead, rubbing my fingers over my eyes, trying to get rid of the dull ache.

I licked my dry lips and tasted alcohol again. Disgusted, I grabbed my jacket from the back of my chair and rubbed my mouth with it.

"What're you doing up here?"

I turned to face Fang, feeling the anger at his antics build up inside me.

"It is your party after all." He added with a small smirk. He was leaning against my doorframe, arms folded, hair messy as usual. His black eyes twinkled slightly.

"Piss off." I muttered, trying to ignore how slurred my voice sounded.

"And if I don't?"

I laughed humourlessly. "You have better things to do."

He paused for a moment. "Like?"

I rolled my eyes again, throwing the jacket on the floor. "Like entertaining sluts."

It was Fang's turn to laugh. "And it appears that you're more than capable of entertaining people too, huh?"

I glared at him furiously. "I don't know what you mean."

He stepped forward, unfolding his arms and allowing his dark eyes to narrow fiercely. "I never took you for an easy girl, Maxie."

I almost screamed in indignation, and stepped forward to slap him hard into his senses, but my feet snagged on the jacket and I went tumbling backwards, my arms flailing. Just before I crashed onto the bed, two strong hands grabbed my waist.

I stared up into Fang's eyes and felt myself swallow hard.

"Careful." His voice was low. Husky. His eyes seemed to blaze down into mine, his mouth pulled up into a teasing half-smile. I watched his hair flop over his forehead and waited for him to release me, but he remained where he was, holding me up just above the bed and hovering over me.

I felt a small shiver spread through my warming body, and my hands lifted to rest on his shoulders. A moment later, they continued to travel up until they reached his head. I allowed my fingers to run through the thick, black mop of hair, something I had wanted to do ever since the first time I met him, when he saved me.

And he had saved me again. Sort of. Something flickered in Fang's eyes as my fingers rested at the back of his head. My weight made me move backwards, consequently pulling Fang's head closer to mine. I felt my eyelids slide shut, a thrill consuming me, as I revelled in the warmth of his breath as it joined my own.

I was now lying on the bed, and Fang's body slowly pressed closer and closer. My nerves were a jumble of heat and excitement as I felt the contours of his lean body.

I tugged ever so slightly on his head until I felt his soft lips press against mine.

The catalyst.

Everything else seemed to go from there. Fang ran his tongue along the edge of my lips and I parted my lips, my fingernails digging into his neck as his hands moved up my body. His body smothered me as he lowered his head to deepen the kiss, sending waves upon waves of electricity searing across my skin. I allowed a soft moan to escape into his mouth and arched my back to press closer against him.

The call for oxygen was like a call to reality.

My swollen lips parted from his, and I stared accusingly up at him, feeling the heat of his gaze scorch me.

"You- just-" I swallowed hard. The ache was replaced with a wonderful tingle. All I wanted was to pull him back to me, but I needed to get these words out. His fingers brushing the skin of my bared back was distracting me.

"What?" I couldn't stand hearing his low, appealing voice. I forced myself to glare at him.

"We can't... we're siblings!" Fang pulled back slightly and stared at me. I flushed.

"You know." I muttered, staring determinedly at his shirt instead of his face. "It's incest."

**She still makes stupid comments... **

**What did you think? :) x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello. I guess it's been... quite a while since I last updated. I'm sorry :\ but HERE I AM and with me is a new chapter. Huzzah. **

**By the way... I just finished reading **_**The Book Thief.**_** I could not stop crying. It was just... SO SAD. If you haven't read it already I certainly recommend it. It's beautiful.**

**Reviewers! I love you guys! You're amazing... but I can't seem to get Fanfiction to let me reply my reviews which sucks. Just know that I appreciate all of them so much. I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'VE REACHED 200! .**

**Anyway... Happy reading! X**

I flung the bed covers from me and groaned loudly, running my hands down my face. It was impossible. I couldn't sleep. I guess I hadn't really _expected _to, seeing as I had spent the entire day mulling over the drunken kiss Fang and I had shared and trying to douse my growing hangover with water.

And here I was. Lying in bed, still awake, still thinking... and it was three in the bloody morning.

I took the cup of water next to my bed and sipped the warming fluid.

"God," I muttered, putting it back and collapsing back on my pillows. What was wrong with me? What had happened to the mighty Maximum Ride? It was ridiculous. I had come to this place, loathing Fang and simply looking for something to do in my Summer Holidays. Now I couldn't get the ass off my mind.

I sighed and tried to force myself to sleep.

Some time later... half an hour, an hour, maybe ten... I got out of bed, my eyelids drooping heavily. I was half dead by now and all I could think was that I desperately needed sleep. Proper sleep. Not this half sleep crap. I padded quietly to my door and slipped out of the room, waiting for a few moments to make sure that the house was completely still. I allowed my feet to do the thinking for me, and followed them down the hallway and up another flight of stairs.

All around me was rubbish and condoms from the party. I kicked them half heartedly out of the way as I moved further up the house.

I stopped outside a door and waited for a few minutes, staring at the smooth oak surface. Should I knock? No.

Yes.

No.

I didn't knock. I pushed the door open slightly with my foot and peered in through the dark at the hunched figure on the bed, sheets wrapped around him like a toga. I suppressed a yawn and closed the door behind me, making my way over to the bed.

"Fang." I hissed. He didn't reply. I poked the arm that was protruding from the sheets. Still no reply.

With a resounding sigh, I lowered myself onto the bed, pushing Fang back slightly so there was more room. I couldn't think straight. My thoughts were mush, my brain was mush, and all I wanted to do was sleep. For some reason, my subconscious thought that sleeping with my fake brother was the perfect solution.

I curled up so that my knees touched my chin and felt myself slipping into the sleep I had waited so long for.

Just before I became lost to the world, I felt Fang shift forward slightly so that we were pressed against each other. A small smile tugged at my mouth, and I slept.

...

I yawned and turned over in my bed, rubbing a hand over my face to clear away the fog of sleep. I sighed and pushed back the cover, sitting up in bed.

Wait. Not my bed.

I looked around me, slightly confused, until I found myself staring at a guitar that could only be Fang's and a black wall that could only be Fang's and a black jumper that could only be... Fang's.

_And what the hell was I doing in his fucking bed?_

I stood up quickly, checking that I was right in the assumption that Fang wasn't in the room, before bounding down the stairs, two at a time, my mind racing as I went. I went straight to the kitchen where I found Aunt Val... Nudge... Ella... Iggy... no Fang.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I squeaked. They stared at me for a few moments – I must have looked like quite something – before Aunt Val offered me a tentative reply.

"I invited Nudge and Ella. Iggy... Iggy's here because..." She paused and looked at Iggy who was staring determinedly down at his plate of bacon. "Iggy, why are you here?"

He shrugged. That was the end of that.

"Um... okay." I pushed my tangled hair back from my face. "Where's Fang?"

They looked at each other. They looked at each other for a long bloody time, none of them venturing to meet my gaze.

"What?" I demanded, getting annoyed. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"Fang... he's left." Iggy muttered at last.

"Band practice." I said grumpily. Iggy nodded.

I took a pancake from the pile and began to drown it in lemon juice and sugar. No body spoke for a long time. It was odd. Finally, Lissa the great broke our little... thing... by bounding into the room and demanding where _Fangy_ was.

"Band practice." I repeated coldly. She sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically before leaving the room again. I couldn't help wondering what she did all the time. She hardly ate or spoke to any of us. She was probably in her room talking on her stupid phone to her stupid friends.

"Max." I looked up. Aunt Val wasn't looking at me – she was staring at Ella, Nudge and Iggy who were all studiously avoiding my gaze. "Your friends have something to tell you."

I shoved another mouthful of pancakes down the hatch and waited.

"Um..." Ella paused, looking at Nudge. Nudge bit her lip and looked at Iggy. Iggy was still staring at his bacon.

"Oh come on, spit it out!"

They sighed in unison.

"It's Fang." Ella said at last.

"Mmm. What about him?"

Iggy groaned and dropped his head into his hands, muttering something inaudible.

"What?"

He looked up, a pained expression on his face. "Fang couldn't be here to tell you himself so he kind of asked me to do it for him, which to be honest is totally unfair seeing as I don't want to be the one having to tell you, he should tell you himself, you know? But I'm his friend and everything so-"

"He said it's probably better if you went home."

I swallowed. I stared. They were silent. They stared back.

"Today?" My voice was tiny, practically non existent. They nodded mutely. I swallowed again, this time not because there was something in my mouth but because I was pretty sure that there were some foreign tears threatening to break through, and I could _not _let that happen. I blinked rapidly before standing up, allowing my chair to crash backwards and onto the floor. Aunt Val sighed and turned away as I moved to the door, my throat constricting.

Bastard.

That stupid, fucking bastard.

He wanted me to leave? I would leave. I wouldn't even give him the satisfaction of seeing me go.

Although I didn't let myself think that perhaps the whole point of Fang being at "band practice" was so that he wouldn't be _here_. Facing my wrath.

The burning tears were gone and they were replaced by an indistinguishable fury. I was in my room, throwing things into the same suitcase I had come here with, the one Fang had helped me carry up the stairs. After I threatened him, but that was beside the point. Once all my clothes were inside it, I went up to his room and emptied his drawers, pulled down his posters, cut his guitar strings. Again. This was my way of saying goodbye.

I was down the stairs a moment later, my suitcase in tow. Iggy, Ella and Nudge were standing together at the door, looking worried.

"You don't have to go right now." Ella said quickly. I rolled my eyes.

"Max."

Aunt Val. Well. Fang's Aunt Val. My fake Aunt Val. My stomach twisted. She knew now. She knew that I had been faking it the whole time, that I was not really her niece, that it had all been a sham. She probably thought I didn't give a shit about her.

That wasn't true. I did care. She was amazing, the best fake aunt anyone could ask for. The tears were biting at my throat again.

"Max."

I stopped on the driveway of the house, turning to face Aunt Val silently. She came towards me, her arms open, and a moment later I found my tear streaked face pressed into her warm, talcum-powder smelling shoulder. She squeezed me slightly.

"Sorry." I muttered. I knew she understood. That was a sorry for her now drenched shoulder _and _the fact that I had lied to her.

She smiled and touched my cheek gently. "I know my sister pretty well, Max. I grew up with her."

I stared at her. Her grin broadened. I swallowed hard.

"You..." I stopped and bit my lip. "You knew? That Fang doesn't have a sister?"

She nodded.

"Right from the start?"

She nodded again.

"So why did you put up with me?"

She grinned. "I liked you."

I smiled down at my feet. "I like you too. And your cookies are amazing."

She laughed, before pulling me in for another hug. "I'll be around for a while, Maxie. Come visit."

I nodded.

"Fang cares about you, you know."

I stiffened. "Mm." I muttered, not trusting myself to open my mouth in the fear that I would start spewing all the worst swear words I could think of to describe him.

"Honestly." She insisted, squeezing my shoulders so that I looked at her. She smiled. "That's why he asked you to go. He doesn't know what to do with himself."

_Yeah right._

"I'll see you soon, Aunt Val." I paused. "I mean... Val..."

"Call me Aunt Val, or else."

"Okay." I grinned. "See you soon Aunt Val."

She nodded and I stepped away from her. I waved at Iggy, Ella and Nudge behind her and they returned it half heartedly. Why did it feel as if I was leaving them behind? I would see them again. I knew I would.

But for some reason, this felt like the end of everything.

So I straightened my back, gripped the handle of my suitcase, and made my way home, to Jeb and the cat that I had actually begun to miss...

**GUYS.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT.**

**OH MY GOD.**

**I can't believe I'm actually saying this but... NEXT CHAPTER IS THE LAST CHAPTER.**

**You can kinda guess that this story is bringing itself to a close. I don't want to drag it on for too long. BUT. I am giving any readers (and lovely reviewers) an option if they really like the story – which I hope they do...**

**Would you guys like me to do a sequel?**

**I could, if enough people wanted me to. I'll give you this chapter and the next chapter to tell me if you think a sequel is a good plan or not. If you think it is, please let me know if you have any ideas about what it should contain.**

**Hope you liked this chapter. Revieeeew! :D x**


	11. Chapter 11

**HELLO AGAIN! I have returned from the dead. Well, semi-dead anyways. My exams are done and finished and OVER and therefore... I AM BACK. Ahh I'm so happy (: I've felt truly deprived of writing recently. **

**So. OMG. Do you have ANY IDEA what a (pleasant) heart attack you all gave me with your amazingly beautiful reviews and the calls for a sequel? Gee. I love you all so much. I have never received so many reviews.**

**This is the final chapter. THE END OF A BRILLIANT JOURNEY. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This shall be your last chance to ever review my story or tell me if you want a sequel... so SHOOT.**

**Happy reading!**

I was bored.

Incredibly, indescribably, unbelievably bored. There was no other way to describe how I was feeling at that point in time. Lying on the sofa, flicking through the television channels and being alone and generally just... bored. It was odd how alien this felt to me. I had spent an entire _life time_ on this sofa with the remote in my hand, waiting for Jeb to get back from work with food.

But this was different. I couldn't help letting myself think of what I _could be _doing at this moment.

I should probably take a break in this oh-poor-me-I'm-so-pathetic-don't-you-feel-sorry-for-me rant, because frankly, you shouldn't feel as sorry for me as you should for the cat. He was burdening most of the anger radiating off me. Already I had showered him with lucozade and followed that up with some bread crumbs... although that was his fault for blocking my view of the television.

"Max?"

I hadn't even heard the front door open, but there was Jeb, wearing his usual dishevelled clothing, with an overused plastic bag attached to his left hand. I sat up on the sofa quickly, accidentally dropping the remote onto the cat's head.

"What have you_ done_ to Daniel?"

I stared at him. "Daniel."

Jeb's mouth quirked up at one side. "The cat, Maximum."

I glanced down at the feline at my feet. He was orange, covered with bread crumbs, and looking pretty pathetically injured after the remote-on-head incident. I almost felt bad for not knowing he had a name...

"Well anyway, I have some stuff to eat." He opened the plastic bag and took out a packet of Jaffa Cakes, throwing them deftly into my lap. "How was your day?"

I sighed.

"Hmm." Jeb came and sat on the arm of the sofa. "Doesn't sound too promising."

I lifted my shoulder in a half hearted shrug.

I felt an arm come around me and pull me against a woollen chest. I stayed frigid for a few moments, having a mental war with myself as to whether this could possibly be the Jeb I knew, the father who was never really a father, the man who _never gave me hugs._ But eventually, the need for human contact got the better of me, and I relaxed against him.

"Maybe it was my fault for letting you go over there in the first place."

"No!" I pushed against him slightly so I could look into his face. "No, it wasn't.

Jeb frowned. "But you clearly didn't have such a great time."

I sighed and played with the frayed edge of his jumper. "I did. It wasn't that. I just... I don't really... you know. I don't get it."

He looked at me, his identical brown eyes holding mine. "There must be a reason."

There was. I had considered this for the whole, boring day. Fang had kicked me out without even bothering to do it face to face... and this was after we shared a kiss at the party. And after I managed to find myself in his bed in the morning. He was embarrassed. He didn't want things to go like this, he didn't see me in that way.

Well I didn't see him in that way either. Obviously.

But despite everything, I had to admit to myself that I was upset. I had enjoyed Fang's company, I liked meeting his friends, I loved Aunt Val and even Lissa provided some sought out entertainment. I wanted to be back there, part of the family again.

Jeb squeezed my shoulder. "I'm sure it'll all work out. If ever you need someone to talk to, I'm here. I know I'm busy most of the time... but I haven't been a great Dad, have I? And that's not fair."

I could hardly believe my ears.

"So I want to make it up to you."

Dear God.

"Dinner tomorrow at that nice restaurant around the corner?"

I felt a grin work its way onto my face. "I'd love to."

He smiled back at me. "Great."

Our little father-daughter bonding time was shattered when the doorbell began to ring. It appeared that in my absence, either Jeb or the cat... I mean, Daniel... had done something to it. It rang, then broke off, then rang again... and it had become suspiciously lower pitched.

I gave Jeb a meaningful look. "I'll get it."

I walked to the door, my legs still stiff from not moving for the entire day. I reached the door and raised myself up on tip-toes so I could peer through the peep-hole.

And wo-behold, my now archenemy slash fake brother slash handsome idiot slash total jerk. Standing at the door. Hands in his pockets. Black hair as black and run-throughable as always.

I was in my room with the door locked in less than ten seconds.

"Max!"

"I DO NOT EXIST!"

Jeb was silent for a few moments, before I heard the sound of the locks being pulled back, and the low buzz of them talking to each other. I pressed my ear to the door, trying to catch anything they said.

Five minutes later, the door banged closed, and thank God I didn't hear Fang's voice.

At least I convinced myself I was relieved. Somehow I wasn't so sure anymore.

I slumped against my door, knotting my fingers together and trying to organise my jumbled thoughts into something actually coherent. So Fang had come. He had come to my house, to talk to me. Unless he wanted to speak to Jeb, which was totally unlikely. He might have wanted to talk to the cat. Daniel, that is. But if he had come... and he wanted to talk to me... then he couldn't be mad, right? Maybe he wanted to ask me to come back. Maybe... maybe he never wanted me to leave in the first place.

Fat chance. Cause Aunt Val, my best friends, and Iggy would all lie to me.

I sighed.

I heard a tapping sound.

_Oh, you cannot be serious._

Surely he wasn't throwing stones at my window?

I picked up a tennis racket on my floor and approached the window.

Instead of being greeted with some stones, however, I was met with a face. A stupid grinning face of a black haired boy who had somehow managed to get to my window. For some reason or another, I felt that I would prefer the stones.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hissed. His grin widened.

"Hey there."

"Don't you _hey there _me." I waved the tennis racket threateningly. "How did you get up here, anyway?"

Fang lowered his head and I saw the gentle shake of his shoulders as he laughed. I resisted the urge to whack him across the head with my racket.

"You're bedroom is on the first floor, and there's some crate thing down here to stand on. You might want to consider an alarm or something. It's not that safe."

"Shut up." I was pretty sure I was red in the face by now. "Go away."

"No."

I was horrified to see him grip my windowsill, trying to push himself upwards. I smacked his hands with my racket.

"Ow!"

"Get away from my window!"

He glared at me. "I need to talk to you, dumbass."

"Frankly, you need to piss off."

Fang sighed. "Max, seriously. This is not a comfortable position."

"I'll put you in an even more uncomfortable position if you don't remove yourself from my premises in the next ten seconds."

"Max-"

"Ten."

"I'm not even-"

"Nine."

"This is not fun-"

"Eight."

"I will-"

"Seven."

"Well then-"

"Si- FANG, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

He was in my room. Somehow or another, the idiot had shoved me aside and launched himself through my window, falling hard against the floor. He sat up slowly, rubbing his neck, while I stood over him brandishing my tennis racket.

"I am going to murder you." I whispered fiercely.

He looked up at me, his dark hair falling into his eyes. He pushed it away before standing up, taking hold of the end of my racket so I couldn't hit him with it. I shook it around furiously, trying to get him to release his grip.

"Listen to me."

I had never heard him sound so serious. That's probably why I stopped. And I glared. And I guess, since I'm such a wonderful person, I listened.

But first...

"Did you want to send me away?" What? He had to listen to me too.

Fang's mouth tightened slightly. "Yeah."

That was all I needed to know. "Okay. Fine. I think you should leave now."

"Max, wait-"

I began to push him back towards the window.

"Max."

"What?"

"Listen."

"No!"

"Max."

"Oh, alright. Hurry up."

Fang sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We both know things were getting a bit out of hand. I couldn't... it was hard for me to deal with it all."

"Oh, it was hard for _you_." I said bitterly. "Well, you are not the one who had to deal with a total douche for a host."

"I get that-"

"And you're not the one who was sent out of the house they were staying at, doing their douche of a host a favour."

"Yeah, about that-"

"And you definitely did not have to deal with a total bitch staying at the house and treating the douche of a host like a freaking God!"

Next thing I knew, I was pressed against the cold wall with Fang's hands pinning my shoulders down so that I couldn't move. I didn't bother questioning his strength, and settled for glaring at him instead.

"Max. Shut up for a minute, alright?"

I continued to glare.

Fang sighed and lowered his head slightly. "After everything, did you really think I'd want you as my sister anymore?"

"Why wouldn't you?" I squealed. "So I messed up your room a bit and had a party at your house and forced you to make cookies, but that doesn't mean-"

He clamped his hand over my mouth. I spat on it.

"For Christ's sake, do you ever shut up?" He wiped his hand down on the back of his jeans. "I couldn't be your brother... fake or not. I couldn't pretend to be... _that_."

I stayed silent, refusing to meet his insistent gaze.

"Max." His voice was gentle now. I glanced at him.

And there he was. Fang. My ex-fake-brother. Really damn close to my face, his dark eyes glittering slightly, his hair falling messily over his forehead, his mouth tugging up at one side... and his breath washing over my face. I felt my lips part slightly. His face moved closer towards mine, and I revelled in the feel of his lean body against mine, that feel that I had missed in only one day... before his hands slid down my arms, brushing against my skin to give me goose pimples, and then... he kissed me.

And all I could think was... _at last, you jerk_.

My mouth melded against Fang's perfectly, and his hands tugged me slightly closer to him. I lifted my arms up to slide my fingers through his hair and grip it.

A moment later, I was shoving his head away from me.

"And there you go..." I struggled to say between heavy breaths. "You kiss me... and I'm just... plain confused... and then there's... Lissa..."

Fang gripped my shoulders again, his eyes boring into my own. "Shut up."

I swallowed.

And he kissed me again, warmth flooding my entire body, filling me with an incredible joy. Because this is what I had been wanting the whole time. I had wanted Fang. Despite the fact that he was an asshole and pretty confusing...

I was just too damn glad that I wasn't _really _his sister.

Because that... would be awkward.

**FINAL CHAPTER**

**FINISHED**

**DONE**

**OMG**

**I CANNOT BELIEVE IT. I think this calls for a speech. *clears throat*. You... my readers... my reviewers... my favouriters, authorers and alerters... you have been beyond amazing. I never ever though my writing could actually be appreciated so much. You probably never knew your reviews could mean so much.**

**They still do. Please let me know what you thought of this, and I hope you enjoyed the story (: Sequel? It's up to you! I will post an authors note up here to let you know if I am.**

**THANKYOU AGAIN.**

**Lots of love, the yellow submarine x**


	12. Sequel or No?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE (This is the first one I've ever done. Pretty exciting :))**

_**Drum roooolllllllll ...**_

_**I'M DOING A SEQUEL!**_

**I think you guys probably knew I was going to. I'm so excited! Okay, so I'm going to take some time to kind of ramble to myself... and anyone who wants to read my rambling is perfectly welcome to.**

**Why I've decided to do a sequel**

**Well. There are loads of reasons. Let's list them.**

**The first reason is that I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MANY PEOPLE ASKED ME TO. It was amazing! Seriously. How could I let down my readers?**

**Secondly. Well. I think anyone who has read Meet My Sister can see that it is beyond unfinished. I mean, Fang and Max aren't in love. They've spent a couple of weeks together, learnt quite a bit about each other, and they thought they should give it a shot because they like the other's company. Which is cool. But I want them to fall in love and discover the good and bad things about each other and miss the other when they're not around. I haven't developed the story enough yet. **

**There are so many untied strings. Ella and Iggy's relationship? How about finding out some more stuff about Aunt Val and Fang's Mum and Jeb? Meet My Sister is just a base for the bigger picture.**

**The plot**

**I've got an idea for the plot! Well. A few.**

**I'm going to list them, and I'd like as many people as possible to review on this chapter with the number of the idea they think is the best :)**

**1.**

**So, has anyone read **_**Kiss and Make Up **_**by Sara Manning? I thought it was pretty cool, and I could use the general idea of the plot for the sequel.**

**Basically, Fang and Max are going out... but Max is new to the whole relationship thing. She sees Fang with another girl, she judges, and they split up. The rest of the story will be Max and Fang battling with their emotions, finding out more about each other, and ultimately, Max trying to get the black haired boy back. Plus some stuff about Ella and Ig, the adults, and lots of FUNNY STUFF. :)**

**2. **

**Fang's Mum comes back home, and she does not approve of Max's new relationship with her son. The scheming and sarcastic woman annoys the couple until they finally split up, resulting in the plot of our story: Max bonding even more with aunt Val, Fang and Max trying to deal with his psychotic and prank-obsessed mother, plus the cat. Because we must have the cat in there somewhere. And Toby. :) And then there's the whole falling in love bit... and MAYBE Aunt Val and Fang's Mum can fight over Jeb? That... would be amusing :P**

**3.**

**I can't think of a number 3.**

**But if you can, LET ME KNOW! And tell me which of the above you prefer, plus any alterations you think are necessary.**

**OH. And any title ideas?**

**THANKS FOR READING GUYS. I'll post a message on this thing when the sequel is up. **

**See ya **

**The yellow submarine x**


	13. SEQUEL IS UP

**Hey. Hi :)**

**SEQUEL'S UP**

**Meet My Mother, based on idea 2**

**I'M EXCITED. REVIEW IT. PLEASE. I'm desperate to know what everyone thinks of it.**

**And thank you so much to anyone who helped me out on the last author's note! I LOVE YOU ALL SO FREAKING MUCH.**

**Okay. Go read it. Meet My Mother. Now. Go. Go. GO.**

**:)**

**X**

**The yellow submarine**


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